Delirium
by Taisi
Summary: Kurama and Hiei come upon two unconscious girls, and for lack of a better idea, take them home. They discard the notion to take them to an orphanage, unsure of their mortality, so they resolve to keep them. Big mistake.
1. Chapter 1

**My friend's and my RP we made up when she came over to my house. Basically, it's us in the Yu Yu Hakusho world, only chibi-fied. I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor do I own my friend, but I do own myself!! This isn't our real description, by the way. We look too normal for our real description to be any fun for our characters. But those are our real names; sort of.**

**Here we go--prepare to laugh. Or at least smile.**

_Chapter 1_

_Lessons Learned_

Kurama rubbed the back of his neck dubiously, emerald eyes sparkling with unsurety as he surveyed their prickly predicament. Hiei scowled and crossed his arms, glancing in the vague direction of the far wall and shutting his eyes in defeat.

Before them, on Kurama's couch, lay two unconcious girls they had found in the middle of the forest. One, the one who looked oldest, had long ebony-black hair and pale white skin. Her facial features were oddly pronounced for such a little girl; dramatically sloping eyebrows set over thick-lashed eyes. Her pale pink lips were turned down at the corners in a scowl and her fists were clenched beside her, even as she slept. She wore black pants, tight, but loose around the ankles, and a white tanktop with the words "I Bite" written across it in block letters, ragged around the shoulders where she'd cut the sleeves off. She lay flat on her back, on arm draped across her stomach, the other in a V at her side. She wore soft, black-soled shoes, almost like slippers, but more durable.

The second girl had lush, tan skin and light golden brown hair; her hair was drawn back into a long braid, her bangs framing her face like two parenthasees ( ) . She had an oddly childlike appearance of innocence about her, from her arching eyebrows to her soft mouth turned to a small, curious "o". She wore black shorts, past the knee, and a sleeveless, large white hoodie with the word "Sacrifice" scrawled across it in eery cursive print. She was curled into a tight ball beside the first girl, breathing deep and even as she traveled soundly in the world of dreams. She had on heavy black cargo boots, with several buckles instead of laces.

Kuwabara and Yusuke were there, sleeping the morning away; the Rekai Tentai had been on a mission, and were returning via the forest, when they'd stumbled upon these two. Yusuke and Kuwabara were too exhausted to care much about what happened to them, and were set upon sleeping at Kurama's place, the one closest to the edge of the wood.

"What should we do, Hiei?" Kurama asked softly, bringing his hand up to his mouth in thoughtful concern. "We can't take them anywhere--it'd be as good as abandoning them, and we're not sure if they're human; it wouldn't do for us to drop two demons off at an orphanage."

"I personally don't care what you do with the little ningens," Hiei snapped, arms still crossed. "We didn't _have _to take them here, but you'd have worried insesently, which is something I don't enjoy--you can be very loud." _Telepathically._

Kurama rolled his eyes until they found the fuming Koorime. "But you know you don't mind little children as much as adult ningens, Hiei."

Hiei said nothing, only turned scorching crimson eyes in the kitsune's direction.

Suddenly, there was a shift. The younger of the two little girls was waking up, stretching, and yawning widely. She blinked several times, sleepily, stormy-gray eyes sparkling even though she'd only just awoke. They fell upon her companion, and she smiled a bit, expression softening. Then she found the two boys, who were staring at her.

She blinked several times, cocking her head. "Who're you?" she asked, voice heavy and hoarse from sleep.

"Umm...I'm Kurama, and this is Hiei," Kurama said, motioning first at himself, than at the fire demon. Hiei said nothing, only grunted his acknowledgement.

"Oh," the girl smiled, adapting smoothly. "I'm Izzi."

Kurama watched her carefully. "Aren't you concerned about why you woke up in a strange place?"

She chuckled. "Why worry? I'm here, aren't I? Let's not sweat the details. Besides, stranger things have happened." The other girl sat up suddenly, melancholy and drowsy with sleep; her black eyes were feirce, although muddled with sleepiness. First she looked at Izzi; reassured she was there, the girl said,

"Iz."

Izzi glanced over her shoulder at her. "Yeah, Ren?"

"Are we at this moment in any immidient, or indirect danger whatsoever?"

Izzi turned to look at Kurama and Hiei; Hiei was still scowling, and Kurama had his hands clasped behind his back, trying to portray harmlessness. Her eyes were suddenly bright, as though seeing through their appearances and into their being."No. I don't think so." Beside her, two onyx eyes were flicking from the kitsune's to the Koorime's with just as much curiosity and wariness

"Good." Ren rested her chin on the other girl's shoulder, eyes half open. Kurama smiled a little, and sat down in the chair across from them. Hiei stood behind him, arms crossed.

"So...are you two human?" Kurama asked cautiously.

"Yeah. ...Last time we checked." A sideways smile.

"So you're normal?"

"Pretty normal, yeah."

At that minute, Ren bit down into Izzi's arm, with a cry of, "FLESH!!"

The girl cried out in alarm, making Kurama wince and Hiei growl. "IT'S TOO EARLY FOR THIS!!" Izzi lept off the couch and past Kurama, falling on her face and taking the kitsune down with her. Ren's arms were wrapped around her waist as she gnawed Izzi's shoulder with malice. Izzi dragged herself up the stairs like she was climbing a mountain, with a strained, determined look on her face. Doing that anime-slide, Yusuke peered out at them from the kitchen, with a blank, dumbfounded look on his face; Kuwabara did the same slide, opening the bathroom door and leaning out in, in footy pajamas with kittens all over it.

Izzi stopped her efforts, and Ren stopped chewing, and they, Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei all turned to stare at Kuwabara; blushing now, the carrot-topped boy slid back into the bathroom and closed the door.

Izzi resumed her struggles, pulling herself up the stairs with her arms only as Ren continued to gnaw on her shoulder.

Kurama and Hiei glanced at each other without moving. "...Normal. Humans."

ooo

Izzi and Ren sat at the table, both blandly sipping at their hot tea. "You could have been a _little _gentler, onee-chan," Izzi said reproachfully, rubbing her bandaged shoulder. "You made me bleed."

Ren mumbled semi-apologetically.

"...That was normal behavior?"

"It helps Ren-onee get awake."

Yusuke snickered, "Strange customs. What kind of family is yours? Pagan priests?"

Izzi looked hurt, but managed a smile. Ren glared daggers at Yusuke. "No...We're not even related. We have no idea why we're here, or how we got here; I can't even remember anything past waking up on that couch."

Kurama threw a stern look at Yusuke, who shrugged helplessly.

Ren paled. "Let's hope there's nothing too graphic to remember."

"Well...have you a place to stay?"

The blank stares served as a repsonse.

"Ah. Yes." Kurama rested his chin in his palm, pondering. Then he stood. "I'll be right back. Hiei." He looked at the Koorime. "Make sure Yusuke and Kuwabara don't say anything unintelligent."

Hiei raised an eyebrow, with some dark humor, and grunted. "Hn."

With that the kitsune rose and swept gracefully out of the room. Izzi and Ren quieted immidiently as soon as he left, staring warily at their companions. Hiei didn't speak or move, merely studied them with an inscrutable gaze. Yusuke rocked back and forth in his chair, leaning back against the wall, the legs hitting the ground with a thump as he dropped forward again. Kuwabara tapped the table with his fingers. Izzi and Ren remained motionless, but for their eyes; they flicked back and forth across the boys, as if they were open books to be read. Though what they read there, the girls did not betray. They merely dropped their gazes once more and stared silently at the table.

When Kurama returned, his eyes met Hiei's; Hiei gave a swift nod. Kurama smiled, and announced, "Mother said she wouldn't mind the two of you taking up residence here."

Izzi's face brightened. "Really? Really?" she stammered happily. Ren nodded, eyes shining; she wasn't a big smiler.

Yusuke and Kuwabara gaped at the kitsune. "Are you _serious? _You don't know these kids!"

"And we don't know you either," Ren snarled. Yusuke blinked at her.

Kuwabara wagged a finger in her face. "You should respect your elders, kid." He was suddenly flying across the room; Kurama ducked to avoid being hit by him as he bodily flew into the wall.

Izzi had to hold back Ren so she wouldn't backhand anybody else.. "WHAT I'LL GIVE YOU IS A LOT LESS THAN RESPECT, BAKA!"

Hiei promptly turned to Kurama. "I approve."

ooo

_Two Weeks Later..._

"I still can't believe you let those brats live with you," Kuwabara mumbled as he hefted the bag onto his shoulder. He, Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei were striding down the sidewalk having come from the grocery store; they were all planning on staying at Kurama's place--Hiei pretty much living there, anyway--for a "sleepover"; to talk about the upcoming mission.

A multicolored tower of smoke spiraled into the sky from a distance. Hiei and Kurama stopped short. Yusuke and Kuwabara glanced at them. "What's wrong? Just a fire."

Kurama was pale, and he started sprinting down the street, muttering, "Please no, please no, _please no." _

As they came upon the kitsune's house, they saw Izzi throw open the kitchen window and dangle out it as more smoke fumed out of it, coughing and hacking. Ren's voice came from inside.

"You weren't supposed to add that yet!"

"B-But you told me to!"

"Er, not until the fire went down! It had to _ferment!"_

Kurama threw open the front door, Hiei and the others having caught up to stare incredulously at the scene; Izzi and Ren were sitting on the kitchen floor, both with gas masks on, sitting in the middle of a circle drawn with crayon, with scribbled runes on either side. In between them was a pot, charred and dented. They looked innocently up at the Koorime and kitsune, and offered gas masks to them both. Behind them, Yusuke and Kuwabara gagged and passed out.

"What. Are. You. Doing." The fox asked with strained calm.

"Alchemy!" Izzi piped up with a huge grin, holding up a large leatherbound book. "It's confusing, but we understand most of it!"

"We're trying to preform the _ultimate transmutation," _Ren said with an evil grin. "We just needed to generate enough power--and also the final ingredient!"

At that time, the pot between them began to shake violently. Izzi steadied it, whipping off the lid, and Ren beat something down with a large grilling fork, yelling, "Get back in there!"

There was a strangle whine, and then silence.

Kurama and Hiei stared at the girls.

The girls stared at the pot.

Whatever was inside the pot died.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Izzi screamed peering into the pot.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE!" Ren cried sadly. "WE JUST NEEDED YOUR _ESSENCE!" _

The two girls sobbed, holding one another like their family pet had just died. Kurama was wide-eyed, peering into the pot from a distance, almost afraid. "...What was that?"

The girls turned teary eyes to him. "The soul of a talking dolphin."

Even Hiei was dumbfounded, though he didn't look it. "A _what?"_

"Yeah, a talking dolphin!" Ren kicked the pot, and it flew across the room, hitting the waking Yusuke in the face, successfully knocking him out again; some blue ooze trickled out onto Kuwabara's face. "Where are we gonna find another one of those?!"

"Well, where'd you get that one?"

"Internet."

"How?"

"Paid eight bucks for it."

Kurama was rubbing his temples; "What were you trying to..."

"Transmute?" Izzi offered.

"Yes; what were you trying to make with all this?"

Ren and Izzi answered in unison: "Waffles."

**Okay, the first chapter. XS I hoped you liked it!! Please review!! **

**Ren:busily taking over Canada:**

ooo


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! Here we go, next chapter!! They go to the **_**beach. **_**Wuahahahahahahahahaaaa!! **

_Chapter 2_

_Newfound Friends_

Kurama glanced over the papers the woman had drawn up with an expert's eye. Satisfied, he accepted the pen the woman readily supplied, and elegantly wrote his name on the first line. He passed them to Hiei, who stared at them for almost a full minute. "Hiei," Kurama said quietly. "Take the papers and the pen, and sign your name on the line below mine." Hiei glared, hating being told what to do even if he didn't know, and took the ink pen and folder. He scowled at it in distaste and scrawled "Jaganeshi" on the next line. At the last blank, the clerk signed her own name, and then dated it.

"Well, that's it then," she said cheerfully, scanning the documents into the computer, saving the files, and placing the actual papers in a drawer in her desk. "You've registered Izzi Minamino and Ren Jaganeshi; and you've adopted them. It'd have been easier to have had your mother adopt them, but you seemed so insistent...As young as you are, I'm sure you'll be great guardians." She smiled. "Have a nice day!"

In normal cases, a fifteen year old would never have been able to arrange for registration and adoption of two girls he'd found in a forest; but demons have strange power of influence over average humans.

As they walked from the building, Hiei glanced up at Kurama, who strode lightly, a slight smile on his face. "Fox--what did we just do?"

"We signed papers. Legal documents."

Hiei kept his face calm. "Hn?"

"We wrote our names on government filed papers under the eyes of--" Hiei cut it with a growl, unamused. Kurama smiled again. "Okay, Hiei; we are now the legal guardians of Minamino Izzi and Jaganeshi Ren."

oooOOOOOOooo

The car ride was...peaceful.

Actual, it was quite placid.

They had gotten up quite early for the long drive, so, Ren and Izzi, being the nocturnal creatures they were, slept most of the way.

It was when Kurama's mother stopped the car at a gas station for a fill up that trouble started.

Ren and Izzi stood outside the doors, beside the snack shelves and soda coolers, waiting sleepily to get back in the car. Izzi fell asleep at one point, still standing. Ren blinked at her, then awarded her with a loud smack that roused the girl at once. "Stay awake, idiot."

"Don't call me an idiot!"

"But you _are _one. Idiot."

"_Don't call me that!"_

"_IIIIIdddiiiiiooooottttt."_

Ren chuckled, then glanced back up, in time to gasp and duck, avoiding a painful run-in with a large cardboard box of snack crackers. "Oy! Don't throw those!" She clenched her teeth when Izzi stuck her tongue out at her. She grabbed a hainful out of the big box of peanuts (one scoop for 1.25) and hurled them at Izzi, who yelped and dove away.

When the patrons of the station began running for their vehicles and driving quickly away, Kurama glanced over the top of the newspaper at the two girls in time to see a soda cooler fly past, as the girl threw it at Izzi, who had grabbed the salesman and was holding him in front of her like a human sheild. Izzi dove out from behind the man, did a few somersaults when she hit the ground, and leapt back to her feet near a gas-tank-thing. She ripped the hose out of its hold and squeezed the handle.

Ren's eyes widened as a shower of gas arched from Izzi, and fell, seemingly slow-mo, to where Ren was. Ren ran away to avoid the shower of gasoline, and Izzi traced after her with the hose from where she stood, expertly aiming at her, Ren expertly avoiding.

It was when Izzi had abandoned the gas hose and Ren had stopped chucking cans of soda at Izzi from over her shoulder, and the two started wrestling around, rolling back and forth, pummeling each other with hits and kicks, that Kurama and Hiei seperated them. "Hiei, you were supposed to be watching them!" Kurama said in a strained voice as he grabbed Izzi around the middle, hauling her away from the snarling Ren. Hiei picked the struggling Ren up by her ankle, and she hissed and clawed at him in an attempt to free herself. Izzi broke free and raced at the upside-down girl, but Kurama caught her by the collar of her shirt at the last second, and held her up by it; she kicked and squirmed as Ren did, both insistent on punching the other.

"My ningen insulted your ningen," Hiei said as way of explanation. "It was a battle of honour."

"You spell honor like a Brit! LEMME GO!" Ren screamed.

"Maybe we should keep these two seperated," Kurama said dubiously, as Izzi spun in slow circles, her shirt wound from where she'd spun around in her struggles.

"NOOOOO!" At the kitsune's words, both girls gasped and clinged to each other, suddenly out of their guardians' grips. Kurama and Hiei made to pull them apart, to no avail; they doubted they could seperate them with a crowbar.

"I _need _my idiot!" Ren cried beseechingly.

Izzi frowned. "But, Ren--"

"I said "my idiot"."

"Oh, okay then."

oooOOOOOOooo

The waters shifted constantly, sometimes gray, sometimes blue, the sunlight glinting blindingly off the surface in brilliant primsms of light. The sun's rays also reflected in two pairs of huge eyes, glowing in wonder and delight.

"Ohhhhhh! It's so big!" Izzi spun in several happy twirls.

"I wanna go in! I wanna go in!" Ren cheered loudly.

The next few minutes was ultimate chaos: as Kurama and Hiei tried to calm the dinamic duo down, they were jumping up and down, screaming at the top of their lungs. And suddenly there were three of them.

Izzi and Ren stopped dancing, to look at the girl with them now. She was exactly their height, with huge blue eyes and long brown hair. She wore a bright blue swimsuit and had a big white sunhat on. "Hiya!" she said cheerily. "I'm Mimi!"

"I'm Izzi!" Izzi said, as always, adapting excellently.

"Why are you here?" Ren asked sharply, more blunt than impolite.

Mimi was undaunted. "To swim! I tried unleashing toxic chemicals into the water so all the animals would dance and talk like a human--and maybe go to law school to become lawyers and win a fancy case--but after the charges filed by that one lady, I--Oooooh, a seagull."

"We have A.D.D. and a day at the beach," Izzi began, grinning widely.

"Oh, the thrills we shall enjoy," Ren finished with a sour edge to her voice, an evil sneer curling onto her face.

"You two are _forbidden _from associating with her," Hiei said, already walking away toward the unsuspecting ice cream vendor. "Two of you is more than enough."

oooOOOOOOooo

It hadn't been but fifteen minutes; Hiei, gnawing on his third strawberry ice cream cone, was crouched beside Kurama, who was stretched out on his back, reading a book, both beneath the shade of a very large, rented beach umbrella. Several people around them started murmuring. The demons glanced up when they heard the screams; Hiei twitched, head bowed, and Kurama smacked his forehead with his palm.

Ren was flailing helplessly in the water, screaming at the top of her lungs, while Izzi swam around her in frantic circles, managing to shriek between breathes; Mimi was running back and forth in the shallow, inch-deep waters by the beach, being chased by a hoard of angry (you guessed it) seagulls. "WUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! GET AWAY!! _GET AWAY!! _LEMME ALONE!! _I didn't mean anything by it! I didn't mean to call you geese!!"_

"SLIMY!" Lauren screamed. "OH SO SLIMY!! GET 'EM OFF ME! _GET 'EM OFF!!" _

Izzi was going under and resurfacing at random intervals, crying, "AHHHHHH!!! IT'S GOT ME! _IT'S GOT ME!"_

People were concerned, worried, frantic, annoyed:

"Who are those girls?"

"They're so loud!"

"Oh, those poor dears!"

"...Are those seagulls?"

"Should we get a lifeguard?"

"Where are their parents?"

Hiei sighed, shoving the rest of his snack into his mouth, and straightening into a stand; Kurama layed aside his book and strode forward, past the screaming Mimi, to the water's edge. He waded out to where the two girls were flailing, and reached down to where he suspected them to be tangled in seaweed; he leapt back in shock, as best as one can in the water, when he felt the smooth, leathery skin of a dolphin. He stared, eyes wide, as it continued to nuzzle the girls' feet from underwater.

_It's...teasing them...They've established an alliance with a wild animal...without _trying _to...Maybe they are some form of demon._

_Of very low class, if that's the case, Fox. Very low class. _

Kurama smiled, and took Izzi by the shoulder, steadying her frantic swim; she stopped, and began treading water, panting heavily. Hiei simply thrust Ren underwater, shoving her head down; when she resurfaced, she spluttered, then glared at him.

"It's just a dolphin," Kurama said quietly, pointing the creature out. Ren and Izzi's panic faded; their eyes widened in childlike curiousity. They reached out small hands and ran gossamer (my current favorite word!) fingers over the dolphin's snout. It clicked at them, then flipped away from them, diving back into the water. Ren and Izzi watched it go, smiling slightly, then began a water war. Kurama waded back out of the pool and Hiei, running quickly across the surface of the water, joined him.

oooOOOOOOooo

Mimi plunged underwater, swimming far below to get away from the seagulls. When she thought she was down far enough, she paused and tread water for a moment. A tap on her shoulder, and she turned around; the seagulls were all there, with snorkles, and flippers.

"What the--?! Who gave you scuba gear?!"

oooOOOOOOooo

When Kurama and Hiei were once again alerted by the shrieks of their charges, the two girls were almost to the top of the bridge; but Ren had slipped and was falling fast, and Izzi's foot was caught in the bars just below where Ren had lost her grip. "AAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"Ren!" Izzi screamed, reached behind her to grab Ren's ankle; but she missed, her hand grabbing thin air, and succeeded in loosing her foot--so she could fall too. "GUAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

A flash of black, and Ren was safely on top of the bridge beside Kurama's mother's car (she'd been at the book store, and had just come to pick them up), watching her friend plumet sea-ward. Suddenly, thick vines wrapped up around the falling girl, holding her safely in their grip. "AHHHHH----ahh." She stopped mid-scream and smiled in relief when she stopped falling, looking around. Then, noticing what had caught her fall, screamed again. "HOLY CRAP!" Grabbing a stick stuck in the bridge, she began trying to burn it.

From atop the bridge, Ren called, "Iz--Iz, that's a stick!"

Izzi threw it over her shoulder and grabbed something else.

"Iz, that's a bird!"

"Oooh! Yay, a birdie!" She made to hug it.

"A dead bird!"

"GYACK!" She dropped it like a hot brick. The vines coiled upwards, to where Kurama, with all their beach things, Hiei, Ren and Ms. Minamino were waiting. "RAMA-NII!" She hugged the boy tightly around the knees.

"Mother," Kurama said wearily, with a fatigued smile on his face. "C...Can we go home...?"

Ms. Minamino smiled at him, having no clue as to why he was so stressed. "Of course, dear." After loading everything into the rented van, they all piled in, damp and tired. Ren and Izzi had wide, satisified, sleepy smiles spread across their faces. "Did you guys have fun?"

Hiei, normally silent anyway, didn't trust himself to speak; Kurama smiled gently. "Yes, Mother. It was...interesting."

Ms. Minamino smiled at them from the rear-view mirror. "I'm glad--the girls look like they had a good time, as well?"

"I'm sure it was a very educational experience."

"Glad to hear it." Another smile, and then the woman refocused her attention on the long drive back home. Kurama tapped Hiei's arm; the Koorime, sitting tailor-style in the seat (some call it "Indian style" for some messed-up reason), glanced at him without moving. "D'you think we should take them to the pool instead of the beach next time? They say they want to come back next week, but...Surely it'll be...safer?...at a public pool?"

"Hn."

"What do you guys think?" Kurama asked, turning around to the back seats where the girls were--or had been. Their seats were vacant, but for a few chips of broken glass, and the knob of the back window.

"Um, Mother!" Kurama leaned forward hastily. "I've forgotten my book back at the bridge! Might you stop the car here, so I can run back and get it?"

The woman smiled, the smile of an overly-patient mother, and pulled to the side of the road. "Try to hurry, dear," she said.

Hiei slid out of the seat as well. "I'll help you find it, Fox," he said with a knowing smirk.

The two literally leapt from the van--movements elegant and refined--and sprinted back to where the girls were; they were hanging from the railing of the bridge, and, with a shout of "BANZAI!" they leaped off it, with the careless, reckless abandon they exhibited in just about everything they did---including jumping off bridges.

Hiei and Kurama reached them seconds after they jumped. Kurama grabbed the rail and reached after them, but came up a few feet short; Hiei crouched on the railing, watching the scene unfold.

Izzi pencil-dove headfirst into the sparkling waters, hitting with a small splash and cutting extremely deep into the waters; Ren, however, did a complete face plant against the surface of the water, making both kitsune and Koorime flinch. Hiei sighed and flitted sketchily out of sight. Reappearing, he held a groggy, weakly-chuckling Ren. Kurama stretched his hand out, fingers flayed; the surface of the water was still for a moment, and then they coiled: Izzi was laughing like mad as she traveled upward, in the strong hold of a column of seaweed. "That was awesome!"

Ren nodded furiously, head cleared. "Yes! Let's do it aga--"

"_Ahem," _Kurama lifted Izzi from the seaweed. "Mother's waiting."

oooOOOOOOooo

Mimi, harnessed to a rope that tied to a bar at the top of the bridge, climbed up the bridge side like a mountain climber, taking great, measured steps, and reaching out to grab the taunt rope again and again as she progressed. On a sudden urge, she glanced down.

The seagulls were likewise harnessed (to the same rope!) and were climbing after her. "Oy!" she yelled back at them. "Can't you guys fly?"

"Eh, Bob's afraid of heights," the first gull said, gesturing over his shoulder; a seagull at the back of the line leaned out so she could see him and waved cheerily.

oooOOOOOOooo

_"Orpheius' Home for Abandoned Youths"_

The sign was grand, standing proudly before the likewise imposing building. It had large windows, big glass double doors, a beautifull tended yard and garden, and a curved walk elegantly leading to the front doors.

Inside, there were not the rows of indentical cots with the once-white gray sheets of stiff cotton folded at the foot; nor were there closets full of brooms and mops to fullfill the chores that the orphans did not have to do.

Upon entering, one would see a long corridor with great oak doors on either side; children were running to and from them, laughing like mad. Some didn't even know they were orphans; others knew and didn't care whether or not they were adopted. They were fed well, given toys to play with, got to celebrate individual birthdays, and every holiday of the year.

The staff was proffesional, efficient, and also very kindly. The nurses treated minor scrapes and bruises as sweetly as a mother would, with the colorful bandages, and candies.

And although life there was great for the children, they never knew who it was who made it so.

Ms. Yakuniro strode briskly down the hall, smiling at a few young girls who waved to her. Her smile melted when she looked away, and the anxiety and few of meeting the Boss returned to her face.

She entered the room quietly, opened the door just enough for her to slide into the room. The man behind the desk was silouetted against the faint glow around the edges of the curtains that were drawn over the window; blocking the flow of sunshine.

"Um...I'm sorry, sir," she said, careful to keep her gaze down. "We haven't found them."

The man turned to face her, eyes glowing red in the darkness. "Well then maybe you should get back to work, Yakuniro."

The woman fled the room with nothing else said.

The man stood and paced the room, stopping at a picture of the two most efficient merceneries he had under his employment.

_Izumi and Renae. You shall not evade me for long._

**Whew! How was that for a long chapter?! I'm **_**beat. **_**Well, gotta go do yard work: **_**hooray. **_**Please review!!**

**Da Hiei Dance: Duh-na-na-na, Duh-na, Duh-na, Can't touch this...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys!--excluding a certain "Disgusted" person. --lethal death glare-- Anywho! Despite SOMEONE'S encouraging words, I am going to continue this story without further ado!**

**I own Izzi and Ren--well, technically, Ren owns Ren...TT-TT I can't own her. If anything, she owns me...**

_Chapter 3_

_Mercenaries_

The Rekai Tentai sat around Kurama's kitchen table, as Botan opened the breif-case-computer-thing so Koenma could breif them on their latest assignment.

"It's terrible!" the prince yelled, slamming his fists onto the table. The noise was so loud, even through the monitor-thing, that Kuwabara scowled. "Several high-class demons have gotten out of hand!"

"What class are we talkin'?" Yusuke asked lazily, crossing his arms.

"Three A and two B class demons!" Koenma flapped his arms. "They've escaped into the human world! This could mean big, big trouble! They've already destroyed several towns!"

Everyone began paying sharper attention. "How many wounded?" Botan asked quietly.

"The casualties are yet unknown, but extremely numerous. We're estimating around the thousands."

Everyone was silent for a moment, fueding, planning; angry and dissapointed that so many had been injured before they had a chance to help out.

There was a soft, "Kurama?"

Everyone looked over to see Izzi and Ren standing there, looking smaller than they'd ever seen them; their eyes were huge with concern and unsurety, and they fidgeted. Everyone's expressions softened; they thought the little girls were scared about the upcoming mission. Hiei and Kurama didn't bother. Izzi turned to Ren, "No, I can't do it, you ask him!"

"He likes you more!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Just do it."

A huff. "Fine." Taking a deep breath, she turned huge, sparkling eyes to Kurama. "Can we have a popcicle?"

"WHAAAAAAAAA?!?" Kuwabara jabbed a finger at them. "FIVE SUPER-BAD DEMONS ARE ON THE LOOSE AND YOU WANNA POPCICLE?!"

"B...But...Popcicles are good!" Ren said defensively.

Kurama layed a hand on both their heads. "They're in the freezer."

"YAY!" Both girls hugged him tightly around the legs, and then raced out of the room. No one said a word. There was the distinct noise of the freezer door being yanked open. And then: "HIEI! THINK FAST!"

Hiei's hand shot up as reflex to catch what came hurtling towards him. A large tub of strawberry ice cream with a spoon taped to the lid. Without another word, he pulled off the spoon, took off the lid, and began to eat, neglecting the utensil. From the kitchen there was a distinct, "I told you he wouldn't use a spoon!" Kurama said nothing, only folded his hands on the table and said, "Go on, Koenma."

oooOOOOOOooo

Izzi and Ren had to be left behind.

Koenma hadn't approved of Kurama's idea adopting them anyway, not that what he said ever mattered.

The two girls had to be forcibly seperated from the Koorime and the kitsune, and then physically held away, giving Team Urameshi time to make a dash.

"NO! _RAMA! Don't leave, nii-san!" _Izzi screamed reaching desperately for the retreading figure, straining against Keiko who desperately held on to her.

"_HIEI! GET BACK HERE!" _Ren yelled desperately, trying to thrash her way out of Shizuru's hold. "_I mean it! I-I kill you if you don't!"_

Niether Kurama or Hiei spoke--not that that was unusual--as the Rekai Tentai departed. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan weren't too keen on interrupting the thoughtful, brooding silence the engulfed them all.

oooOOOOOOooo

Keiko and Shizuru didn't think it wise, or just didn't feel too comfortable with the thought, to leave the girls alone. They ordered pizza for Izzi and Ren--the girls' all-time favorite meal--and when they normally would have inhaled the food, the young girls didn't touch it. They didn't even see the plates in front of them. They simply sat, and stared forward. Any attempts at conversation went unrewarded. Any daily activities usually performed were neglected.

They became different people, silent, shelled, evanescent.

It was when Keiko and Shikamaru were both gone, a few days later, that what happened did. Shikamaru had left before, for reasons she hadn't chose to share (probably out of cigarettes), and Keiko had left to go shopping.

Izzi shivered a bit, rubbing her arms. As soon as Keiko left, she'd gotten up and started pacing around, dangerously on the verge of tears; she said nothing, only paced frantically, eyes scanning every wall, window, door. Ren simply turned to face the corner of the room, crossing her arms, and glaring down at the floor. "They left us. _Everyone _leaves us," she snarled softly.

"No!" Izzi turned abruptly to face her. "Our nii-sans wouldn't--"

"They aren't our brothers. They're our legal guardians. That doesn't mean they can't run out on us."

"_Yes it does. _Why would Rama-nii and Hiei-nii have adopted us, if they weren't going to keep us around?" Izzi asked desperately.

Ren leaned in close to Izzi's face. "Why do adults do the things they do? Simple; because they can." Ren's eyes swept over the room. "Do we need them?"

"Be quiet, Ren," Izzi said stiffly. "They helped us. They didn't _have _to--"

"--drag us from the forest and let us live with them? No, they didn't. Why did they? I have no clue. Do I _care _anymore? NO!" She stomped to the opposite side of the room.

Izzi sat down, drawing her knees close to her. "You don't mean that, Ren. That's just your pride talking." She rested her head on her arms, hiding her face. "You're just as upset as I am."

Ren said nothing, but merely glanced back at her distraught friend. After a few silent moments, she trudged over to sit next to Izzi, propping her elbows on her knees, putting her chin between her elbows, and letting her hands rest on her hair. "Yeah."

There was a knock on the door, sharp and rough.

"Stupid Keiko locked herself out," Ren muttered.

The knock sounded again. Both Izzi and Ren were expecting Keiko's apologetic plea for the door to be opened, but that's not what happened; instead the door began rattling, as someone began throwing all their weight against it. "Shiz...uru?" Ren said, offering a hesitant explanation for the violent, impatient gestures being made against the door.

Both girls stood and pressed closer together, straining to see through the early-evening mid-darkness; then the door crashed down from its hinges. On it stood two demons; they looked a lot like humans, wearing jeans and T-shirts, but their skin was so blue it was pale, and their eyes were red.They had black hair, falling to about their ankles, done in multiple braids. They were completely identical, but one was a boy, and one a girl.

"Ahh, so _these _are the girls," the female hissed through clenched teeth, eyes glittering in delight at a mission completed. "Master Orpheius will be very pleased that we found them, don't you think so, Ea?"

"I agree Ae...those demons and that human proved more difficult then we expected," her companion, Ea, replied, lips curling into a silent snarl. "We lost those rogues whose help we enlisted, but no matter; the stupid human male proved too easy to manipulate. He told us exactly where these little gems were."

Orpheius: the name struck something inside the girls. Like a long-lost memory that they could almost grasp; an ember, glowing dimmer and dimmer, suddenly flaring sparks; something that slipped out of reach when they groped for it. Nonetheless, they didn't dwell on it for too long. 

"Who are you!" Ren yelled, voice breaking in her anger, slashing a hand down. "Get out!"

"Yeah! This is nii-san's house!" Izzi shouted, fists trembling with fear and fury. "You don't belong here!"

"Ohh...so quick to defend the ones who couldn't protect them." The female demon, Ae, smiled at them malevolently (typo...? That word that's the opposite of "benevolent"...). "But girls; don't you realize? We're your ticket back to where you belong."

"We belong here!" Izzi said firmly, stomping her foot down as literation.

"No, you don't," Ea said almost soothingly. "You belong to Master Orpheius."

Ren's eyes narrowed and a growl formed in her throat, leaving through clenched teeth; "_belong to"? "TO"?! _"NO FLIPPING WAY!" she screamed. "WE DON'T BELONG TO--"

"Onee-chan, lookout!"

A hand was suddenly gripping Ren's throat; it wasn't like in all the movies she'd seen, where the captor just barely lets the victim breathe: she was suddenly breathless, and her lungs started screaming immidiently for more air. She clawed at the hands on her windpipe, choking.

"LET HER GO!" Izzi, who'd not opposed them verbally yet (which is why she wasn't being strangled), ran forward and made to pull Ren away; but then she found herself in the same strangle hold, Ea holding her neck as his sister was holding Ren's.

"Now, now, little killers," Ae and Ea said in unison, voices barely above a whisper. Their tones were perfectly in unison, merging together in a haunting lullaby of sorts. "You musn't harm the messengers."

The girls clawed at the hands blocking their breath. They tried to scream, to cry, to shout; they thrashed wildly, being held up only by their necks; all this went on unrewarded as the demons held firm. Slowly, their vigor left them and they started to fall limp. Tears of anger and fear were spilling down the girls' usually bright faces.

_Why...Kurama...Hiei...why weren't you here...to help us? Did you...really abandon us...like we thought...?_

They fell unconcious just before Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan arrived.

They didn't see the fight that ensued.

They weren't aware of how angry their guardians were; angry enough to call upon Yoko and the Black Dragon to mercilessly pummel the demons who'd harmed their _ningens. _

They had dropped into unconciousness; and when the dreamless sleep was born, a part of their mind died. Peices of memory, once held so dear, were now shoved into the back of their mind, subconciously being covered by older memories, that were becoming familiar once more.

oooOOOOOOooo

She opened her eyes quickly; instead of bleary and sleepy, they were sharp, alert, and clear. She peered around the room without moving her head, scanning for any signs of peril. She didn't know where she was, why she was there, or where her partner (aka--best/only friend) was. Sensing movement, her hand, from under the blankets, flew to where she kept her kunai--but her weapons were missing.

A feral snarl built low in her chest, but she suppressed it. Where was her partner?

"Ah, Ren--you're awake."

Hearing the name "Ren" her thoughts went to the only person who she'd allow to call her that, but the voice was definitely different. She glanced to the side quickly, ebony eyes sharp. A youth, older than her by about five years, sat a few paces from another bed. He had violently red hair and intelligent green eyes; his expression softened as he looked at her, but he made no move towards her.

_Hospital._

The thought struck her suddenly. That was where she was.

"Hn. Onna. How are you feeling."

This voice was not gentle like the first was. She was already on guard, tense, angry; this voice did nothing to illeviate her metallic fears. She glanced over a bit, eyes flickering. A boy much smaller than the first, with naturally spiked-up hair that was so black it had a blue sheen to it, and smoldering crimson eyes, was standing next to the wall, almost hidden by the shadows.

As she thought about an immidient course of action, which was usually her partner's job, being the strategist, her eyes caught the auburn-haired youth in the next bed; her partner. "Ren" would have grinned if she wasn't in the presence of an enemy; the other girl rubbed her eyes sleepily, a content smile on her face. This girl never appeared alert when she awoke; she knew that the first girl (the one who'd immidiently gone for her missing weapons) would take care of any danger, and that was the reason she gave. But the weaponry girl knew that the minute the strategist awoke her brain buzzed and she was immidiently noting anyone/thing in the room, and any possible escape route.

"Mmmm...Ren? I had a funny dream..." Her eyes caught Kurama and Hiei; her smile dissapeared. She leapt off the bed, Weapon-girl doing the same, and both stood back-to-back.

"Renae."

"Izumi."

Izumi held up her fists, eyes trained on the confused and concerned kitsune, and bemused Koorime. "Stats."

"Demons. Possible enemies."

"Objectives."

"Fight them off. Kill them if we must."

"Got it."

"Umm...Izzi? Ren?" The red-haired boy stood, looking, again, concerned. "Should I call a nurse..?"

"Who are you," Renae snarled in a no-nonsense voice. "And how the hell do you know our names?"

She could see her words, rather than intimidate them, confused them all the more. Suddenly, the black-clad boy ripped off his headband and a third eye--purple--opened on his forehead. Beside her, Izumi gasped and opened her mouth to speak, eyes hardened as they did when she was mentally sheilding herself from something, but before she could warn Renae, Renae felt the full blow of a mind coursing through hers.

It should have felt alien; she should have loathed it immidiently, should have thrusted it away, should have fought it tooth and nail.

But she didn't.

And that scared her.

"Izumi!" she said at once, needing relief from the probing that this strange demon was doing on her mind; despite how gentle he was, which surprised her more than anything, it still hurt to have someone reading her memories.

Before Renae had even spoken, Izumi had lunged to the side and grabbed an IV pole, holding it lengthwise and throwing it at the two demons in one fluid motion. They ducked quickly, instinctively; Hiei had an oddly blank, confounded look on his face--

but when they straightned, as fast as they were, the window of the third floor hospital room was open, the girls were gone, and the curtains were flowing in an invisible breeze.

**Phew. Hope you liked it! Please leave a comment--I kinda added a twist though...XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okies, chapter four!! I couldn't wait to start this one!! I hope you've liked the story thus far, and that you continue reading!! Do you know how hard it was to type "Renae" in stead of "Ren" and "Izumi" instead of "Izzi"?! WOW. Oh, and if you've seen "Naruto", Renae and Izumi (aka--Ren and Izzi with memory problems) run just like those shinobi. **

**And speaking of Naruto...Ren-onee told me that I mistakenly called Shizuru "Shikamaru" a total of two times. Please accept my humblest apologies for so careless an error. -bows- But Shikamaru-kun, along with Kiba-kun, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, Hinata-chan, Lee-kun and Gaara-kun, is my favorite character! E3**

**And now for an episode of "MIMI'S POCKETS!"**

**Short Extra!: MIMI'S POCKETS!!..._OF DOOM!_**

**-Lunchtime During School.-**

**They had a table all to themselves. When someone else approached, this including both peers _and _teachers, the girls would snarl like maddened lunatics, the sound more readily heard from inmates at an insane asylum. Needless to say, the approachees backed away slowly, knowing it was never safe to run from a maddened wild animal.**

**As Izzi prodded her lunch, trying to get it to talk, and Ren stabbed hers to make sure it was dead (it wasn't), Mimi began rooting around in her pockets.**

**"See, I know I have some ramen in here somewhere," she muttered, eyes turned to the ceiling as she searched thoughtfully through her many pockets.**

**"_Ramen?" _Izzi abandoned her fork and twitching lasagna and turned to Mimi. "I want some!"**

**Ren had some red goo from the lunch (I'm telling you, it wasn't edible; the crap _bounced.) _balanced in the cup of her spoon and was aiming at a random target she had just randomly chosen...randomly. She glanced over at Mimi. "You have _ramen _in there? In a bowl, I'd hope?"**

**Mimi missed the sarcasm. "No, I don't think the bowl would fit...Only the noodles." Ren and Izzi fixed her with a blank stare.**

**"Ah-_hah!" _Mimi withdrew a steaming bowl of chicken-flavored ramen, complete with chopsticks. She began slurping them up immidiently. "Yuummm..."**

**"...What _else _do you have in there?"**

**They really shouldn't have asked. When the frightened lunchroom supervisor warily approached their table--hands raised high--there was a basketball, half a sneaker, an empty ice cube tray, a flashlight, a hairbrush, an _egg,_ a raw fish, a fish_stick, _and a horse. Yes. A live horse.**

**Ren and Izzi were staring. Izzi, without looking away stretched her hand out to the supervisor palm-up. "Gimme your car keys." Getting no response, she muttered, "I WOULD STEAL YOU CAR WITHOUT THE KEYS IF THE URGE ROSE SO GIVE ME THE KEYS." She recieved them immidiently.**

**She pointed the radar button-thing at Mimi's pockets--Mimi still ignorantly slurping--and pressed the button. _Bwip-bwip. _The pockets lit up. Ren and Izzi were very silent. Izzi handed the keyring back. The supervisor screamed, "MY CAR IS IN THERE?!"**

**On a sudden whim, Mimi reached in her pocket once more and withdrew two more bowls of ramen, and two pairs of chopsticks. "Don't worry, I brought you guys some."**

**Without another word, they began to eat.**

**Short Extra!: End**

_Chapter 4_

_Memories_

Renae and Izumi ran swiftly, almost gliding over the ground, leaning forward, arms by their sides, legs ablur. They were tired, but couldn't remember what made them so. Their fists were bandaged, bandages bloodstained; they did not know why. They felt dizzy, lightheaded, wobbly...and also, for some strange reason, empty. They felt a pang in their hearts when they leaped from the window, but not of physical pain. Izumi had made sure to twist the IV pole in her hands before she threw it, in a manner that would not harm the two demons at all. She hadn't even _thought _about it; it was just a reflex, to make sure they weren't hurt, especially that she was the one harming them. It wasn't the right mindset for a mercenary to have; one that steals from demons to earn their daily bread, fighting or killing them if the need arises, shouldn't think twice about harming a pair of high-level ones.

"Ren?" Izumi asked softly as they dashed quickly through town.

"Eh?"

"Umm...about those demons..." her intelligent mind was working overload, trying desperately to figure out why they'd hesitated back there; and why they couldn't remember anything before that. "It was just a fluke, right? I was just tired, that's why I couldn't fight them...right?"

Ren didn't have to state the obvious: that from the minute they awoke to the minute they layed down their heads to sleep, the girls were professionals; something like "tired" could not, had not, and wouldn't ever get in the way of their mission objectives.

"Where should we go, Iz?" Ren asked instead, enjoying the feeling of invisibility. They had sheilded themselves so that the searching eye slid right past them. People saw them, but anyone looked for them conveniently looked glanced over them.

They forgot to shield their minds; or maybe they just didn't feel the need.

oooOOOOOOooo

A knock sounded on the door. Everyone, the entire Rekai Tentai--including Koenma--Botan, Shizuru, Atsuko and Keiko, glanced up hopefully; Kurama and Hiei, sensing who it was, did not move from their shadowed corner. Yusuke, however, ignorant as he was, leaped forward and, with a perfectly executed dive, opened the door.

It was Mimi; she wore blue jean shorts, a white T-shirt, blue and white sneakers, and her long brown hair was done up in high pigtails. She gave a jaunty wave.

Everyone's faces fell. "Oh. You." Yusuke shut the door in her face and resumed his silent brooding on the couch once more.

"Well, _hi." _She opened the door, walked inside, shut the door, and seated herself in a chair. "So, I'm home; what's shakin'?"

"You don't live here," Kuwabara muttered, trying to contemplate how chipper she was.

"So? You're point?" Seeing no one was sharing her smile, she frowned.

"Sorry, kid," Shizuru sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "We're all slightly on-edge."

"What? Why?"

"Umm..." Keiko put this as gently as she could; it could be a very big shock to find out your two best friends were gone. "Umm...It's Ren-san and Izzi-san..."

"Yeaaaahhh...?"

Botan finished softly, "They're missing."

If they were expecting terror or horror, the group was sadly dissapointed; all they got was a blank stare. "Missing?"

"_GONE."_

"No they're not, they're at my house."

"What? Really?"

"No."

Everyone kind of did a faceplant. "Whaaaa--?! Then why did you say that?!"

"I just had a sudden urge," she explained shamelessly. Kurama and Hiei were still withdrawn into their small corner of the room, emerald and crimson eyes flickering with each shift in the balance of light. She glanced over at them, and for a moment, something serious crossed over her face, as her eyes tightened and narrowed. She stood, unintimidated by the fact that they were powerful demons, strode over, and jabbed a finger at them. Their team flinched back, surprised. ((Hiei somewhat growled, not really pleased, and Kurama just kind of sat there.))

"You better find them," were her words; they were cold, unforgiving. "Don't just sit here and feel sorry for yourself. You _knew _they were special. Special ten-year-olds don't just _appear _randomly, by some miracle of nature, unconcious in the middle of the forest." She spoke sharply, unafraid and brutally frank. "They love you--you're their big brothers. You're the ones they have to count on; if you're not their for them to lean on, to cry to, then they just _won't. _They'll keep everything all bottled up inside them and they'll learn to _live like that." _She crossed her arms, angry tears building behind her eyes. "They play dumb, but they're so smart. They know what it's like to be alone, and to feel pain and desolation; _just like I do. _I don't live with a foster mother because I can. I live with her because I've got _nowhere else to go. _But I've adapted. I like it there now." Mimi spun on her heel, marching to the door, hair trailing behind her. She faced them again, forget-me-not blue eyes flashing dangerously. "They'll adapt too."

She swept out the door, shutting it softly behind her.

Kurama and Hiei said nothing, but Kurama wouldn't look at anything but the floor; and Hiei met everyone's questioning gaze with a smoldering glare far much more livid then usual.

Yusuke, deciding the time was right to break the silence, stood, stretched, and yelled, "I'M GONNA GO MAKE SOME LUNCH."

No one questioned him; ever since the two girls had dissapeared, the entire group had been going out of their way to make as much noise as was humanly, and demonicly, possible. At this home, it was an off day when there was no explosion. He stomped into the kitchen and there was silence. Then suddenly there was an echoing chorus of about eight metal pots hitting the floor from where they hung on the wall with an unholy crash. There was a globe of burning aura, as Yusuke fired off his Reigun. The spirit energy hit every metallic surface possible, and then made a U-turn around the kitchen door, into the living room, to hit Kuwabara in the face.

There was mustard, pickles, relish, fish--yes, fish--broccoli, cauliflower, flamenco, miso, leeks, ketchup, mayonaise, and raw bacon in the spirit blast; all this was splattered in the carrot-top's face.

"Uhhh...Yusuke?" Atsuko called. "What are you trying to make?"

"PB&J!"

oooOOOOOOooo

"Renae-san?" Izumi asked in a small voice.

Renae missed the "onee" at the end of her name, receiving the formal tag instead; she knew something was wrong. "Yeah, Iz-chan?" she asked, lapsing into friendly informal in an attempt to ease her friend's discomfort.

"Those demons. They didn't attack us...they didn't try to hurt us..." her voice was quivering. "And...I can't remember...why..." She was shaking as she pulled her knees closer. "My _job _is to remember. I'm supposed to remember _everything. _I...can't just have...forgotten..." The girl whose teammate was a reckless take-all, whose missions involved fighting and killing high-level demons so they can claim a place to sleep at night, was stressing over a lapse in her memory. ((That tells you how messed up the world is.)) "If I can't use my head right, I can't be a mercenary anymore! My smarts are...are all I have."

Renae clenched her fists. "Shut up if you're gonna talk like that. You're fighting skills are as good as mine. And you sure the hell are smart, even if your gonna have a little pity-party. Although, I am a helluva lot better fighter when the pressure's on," she smirked. "You just figure the out the scenario."

"Nuh-uh! I help--"

"_See?"_

Izumi glared and said nothing. After a few moments, she muttered, "We should go see them."

Renae didn't ask who she was talking about. "Why the hell should we?"

"Because we can't remember them--but they _know _us. You told me yourself that that demon who probed your mind didn't try to hurt you. _Any _other demon would have."

Renae was silent.

"Please, Ren? We have to find out."

"No, no, it's not that; it's just...how can we find them?" Izumi opened her mouth but Renae continued, "_Without _seeing the master first." Izumi's mouth clamped shut.

"_Crap," _she snarled through clenched teeth. "All my stuff's back there!"

"Obviously."

It's amazing how laid-back a theif/killer can be when they are only in the presence of their best friend.

"Well, I guess there's one other alternative," Izumi was suddenly all smiles. "Wow, I'm stupid; it took me a whole three minutes to think of it!"

Renae rolled her eyes. "Very demeaning, I'm sure."

"The _hospital," _Izumi said, seriousness refilling her stormy gray eyes. "Someone had to have checked us in. We go back to the hospital, find out who, check out a phone book and _bam; _low-tech identity recognition."

oooOOOOOOooo

It was in the middle of the night.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko and Botan were in the guest quarters of the house Kurama was renting from a friend. ((No one knew anything about this friend, apart from Hiei, of course.)) Kurama was laying with his hands folded under his hands on his bed all-too awake, and Hiei sitting in the open window, breathing in the cool night air. Both were pondering the sincere, hostile words thrown at them by a ten-year-old girl; considering how they could find two little mercenaries; wondering if they would start tomorrow.

Then Kurama sat up. Hiei turned from the window. Both sensed a presence of two all-too familiar beings.

Everyone rushed into the hall; Yusuke and Kuwabara, who bunked in the same room, barreled out at the same time, and a groggy Keiko led by an insisten Botan stumbled out too. Kurama and Hiei stepped in front of them.

Renae and Izumi, still bandaged, stood at the end of the hall. Renae smirked at them. Izumi almost smiled.

"Come _play _with us," Renae said in a soft, childish voice, eyes widened hugely. Kuwabara screamed silently and Yusuke kind of paled. Izumi noticed at once, and drew Renae's attention to, the kitsune's small smile, and the Koorime's resigned sigh.

_That...was something their Ren would have said, _Renae mused thoughtfully. _But that was how I act when I'm just with Iz...What the hell is going on?!_

Seeing Renae's frustration, Izumi stepped in to engage in conversation; Renae didn't stop her. They were both smart enough not to give away anything important.

"So," Izumi said, voice trembling slightly. "Tell us; how do you know us? And what's happened for the last few months?"

Both girls were suprised to see something that could only be described as hurt flicker across the two demon's gazes. It was concealed not even half a second later, but it had been there. Then the kitsune tried a smile.

"Yes. Where to begin?"

oooOOOOOOooo

Days turned to weeks.

Neither girl wanted to leave.

It wasn't the same as it had been; that was obvious. They were still acting uptight, wary, unsure, when it was apparent that the other Ren and Izzi would have been loud, enthusiastic and affectionate. When Renae slipped up, and said something teasing to the Koorime, he looked like he'd almost expected her to wrap herself in his cloak and demand a piggy-back ride. She could read that, and was flabbergasted. _I wouldn't do that! _

But...somehow, someway, things just clicked.

Both girls thought the same thing;

_I don't want to leave. _

Even so, they were slowly easing out of their wariness; they found themselves smiling more, laughing at some of Yusuke's sarcasm ((usually pointed in the vague-ish direction of Kuwabara's stupidity)), taunting a fuming Koorime, talking with the gentle, intelligent kitsune.

But of course, things couldn't stay awkwardly-happy for long.

There was a knock on the door. Kurama stood; Izumi, nearer to the door, waved him down with a small polite smile, and trotted over to grab the handle. She flashed a grin at Renae--how could things be happier? And Renae rolled her eyes, nonetheless agreeing--and pulled the door open.

No one had any time to react; there was a strange pulse through the air, and suddenly a gust flew out in a perfect crescent shape, blowing everyone back. Kurama sensibly ducked back into the kitchen from where he stood in the doorframe, and Hiei, sitting on the back of the couch, dove behind it. Yusuke flew _out _the window ((No one knows how. Please, just, don't ask.)) Being a normal human the force of the gust knocked Kuwabara out immidiently.

Izumi and Renae were crouched low, hands up in an X over their faces, cutting through the sharp gale so it streamlined past them. They glared up through the roaring chaos. "_Who the hell--?!" _Ren snarled softly.

"Ahh, Izumi, Renae. It's good to see you again."

The girls' eyes widened. From their safety, Kurama and Hiei could see a dim shape take form through the settling dust and smoke.

_"...Orpheius."_

**Ahh, I feel so complete. I typed this so quickly! YAY FOR SPEED!!**

**Short Extra!: The Pageant...of DOOM!**

**-At a Thanksgiving pageant.-**

**"And then the Indians and the Pilgrims joined together for a feast of brothership and thanksgiving!" the narrator said jubilantly through the microphone. The audience applauded the children's performance. Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder; or firecrackers being hurled to the floor.**

**Ren and Izzi, both garbed in Native American wear, lit fire to the plastic feast set out along a long wooden table; it burned higher and higher, smoke rising to the ceiling. They danced around in the traditional cheiftain warrior dance, hooting while cupping and uncupping their mouths.**

**From the audience, a red-haired youth, and a blue-black haired boy both paled. ((Well, Hiei looked proud, but that doesn't fit the storyline.))**

**Short Extra!: End**

**Ahh...the sweet sight of success. I HAVE TYPED THE NEXT CHAPTER WITHOUT MAKING YOU GUYS WAIT FOR A MILLION YEARS!! See, everything I type is completely off the top of my head, so right now, if this weren't an RP, I would normally have no idea where else to go with it. XD Reviews!!**

**Ren: -is breifing a hoard of angry demons where to find the principal's office, and how bloodily to do their job-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Short Extra!: Spirit Detective Homework of Doom**

**Yusuke had dragged his bag over to Kurama's place, only to be told that Kurama was out by a glaring Koorime. Undaunted, he'd thrown himself into a dining room chair and smacked his papers down on the table. **

**  
"How the hell do you _do _this?" he moaned, jabbing at the math with his pencil.**

**  
Izzi, who was dancing around the room just to ward off boredom to the amusement of Ren who sat next to Yusuke, paused and pranced over. "The answer is pi times the diameter squared minus two." And then she was gone again.**

**Yusuke blinked after her. "This is tenth grade algebra--how the hell would she know how to do it?"**

**  
Ren looked at him solemnly. "Do not question the Izzid." She reached over and took something that Izzi had cooked, without knowing what it was, and bit into it. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly.**

**Short Extra!: End**

_Chapter 5_

_We'll Fight For You_

They stood warily, slightly crouched; they lowered their arms slightly but kept them at the ready. As the dust settled, clearing the air, the man whose imposing entrance had demolished half the house chuckled.

"Ah, my favorite two subordinates," he said with wicked humor. "I've missed you."

He didn't look abnormal; he looked to be a well-built man in maybe his early twenties, with a mane of black hair tied back and demonic red eyes. He wore a three-piece professional business suit, glossy black and chic with a red tie. His arms were crossed, and somehow his face was shadowed so only his eyes could be seen, glowing luminously, dangerously.

Renae ground her teeth so hard they ached. "You," she snarled.

"I."

Izumi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Leave. Leave now."

The man raised his arms in feigned helplessness, while his face was mocking. He shut his eyes and pivoted to the side slightly, saying, "Now, is that any way to treat your Master?"

His eyes met and held theirs'. They froze, anger leaving their faces, their expressions changing to ones of fear and panic. Izumi brought her hands shakily to her face, slowly, struggling to breathe. Renae clenched hers into fists, a feral snarl building low in her chest and rising through her throat, desperately trying to mask her alarm. In that moment, they were at their most vulnerable. This man was more human than demon; but with just his gaze he could strangle his victim's in cold blood.

The man grinned dangerously and lunged. Before he reached her, however, a soccer ball flew from nowhere and hit him squarely on the forehead with enough force to knock out a human Goliath. He paused, rubbing the raw skin, and looked round to see a brunette girl panting angrily, hunched slightly, teeth clenched.

"Leave them alone, you freak! Who the heck are you, anyway?" she asked, waving her arm wildly, finger pointing in his vague direction. "You _gay freak_. You make me sick—you make me _physically ill_."

Kitsune and Koorime both began to regain conciousness very slowly; though they had been able to avoid most of the blow, it's waves had nauseated them. Now, hearing "their" once-helpless kids' voices, they opened their eyes; it was a deeper calling than the pain. (Basically, over the months they'd had them, they'd demonicly 'bonded' with Izzi and Ren; so their being in trouble brings out raw strength.) Kurama and Hiei smiled to each other; the Koorime's more of a smirk. As Kurama made to step out of the kitchen, and Hiei began crawling out from under the couch, Renae snarled chokingly as the, "Well, the demons who lived here are dead—we killed them a long time ago."

"MURDERLATED!" Mimi offered loudly.

"Who the hell is that?" Orpheius asked, pointing at Mimi without looking at her.

"She's a girl from the street," Izumi said at once, voice mottled as she clawed at her throat. "We don't know her."

Mimi shut her mouth and glanced at them, unusually serious. She knew for a fact that Kurama and Hiei were not dead, having just conversed with them less than half an hour ago; thus Izumi and Renae were lying to protect them. Mimi sighed and took a step backwards. "Yeah. They're right! I don't know any of you."

"Then what are you doing here?" Orpheius asked suspiciously, red eyes tightening as he took her in.

"Passing by, thought you three were having an argument." She shrugged. "But it was just my imagination; by the way, would either of you like some cookies? I'm selling for my church." She patted her soccer bag. _I hope they say no…Come on, guys, please say no. I don't got no cookies in here, just my jersey…How would I explain that one? _

"No," Renae managed to gasp, eyes watering; Orpheius still held them in their death grip; once he glanced eye-to-eye with a person, and willed them to choke, they would choke until he decided otherwise. "No, no, no..."

"Okay, then!" Mimi forced her voice to be light and chipper. She spun on her heel and trotted back out the door, calling over her shoulder, "Have a nice day!"

When the door slammed shut behind her, she let the act drop. She sank to her knees, facing the closed and locked door, and her blue eyes shimmered; she let her fce drop into her hands. _Am I really no good to them? _A groan alerted her to the bushes, where she found a muttering, cursing Yusuke and an unconcious Kuwabara. Mimi stared at them for almost ten seconds, before reaching into her sports bag, and withdrawing a chilled bottle of fresh cold water. She knelt beside them and doused their faces, offering Yusuke water, and Kuwabara a healthy wake-up kick.

_...I can still help._

---

"So, you say that you've killed all the demons who lived here?" Orpheius said, glancing airily about the room. Immidiently, Kurama and Hiei--to add to the facadè--masked their aura. "Hmm...I can see I was mistaken." He let them go.

Both girls drew in heavy, hoarse breathes, gasping. Izumi was crying silently, massaging her throat; Renae's expression was trembling, and she bit her lip so hard she drew blood.

"Now, now, where's that hard-core, iron blood you used to have?" Orpheius said soothingly, patting them both on the head. "No need for tears; let's go back _home. _And if any other demons try to steal you away from me, you know what'll happen."

Renae and Izumi stood. He turned to the door; and suddenly a pain struck him in fiercly in the neck and back. Gasping in surprise, he looked round; they were on their feet, yes, but were not shuffling towards him in any obedient way; they were running towards him, splitting, one to the right, one left. Renae had senbon bewteen her fingers, like wolverine claws, and Izzi was spinning an iron pole, boomerang held between her teeth. ((Renae ALWAYS has senbon, kunai or shuriken on her--senbon are these needle-like things that target tender nerves in the body--and Izumi's always got either those--minus the senbon--an iron staff or metal boomerang.))

"_Do NOT TREAT US LIKE INFERIORS!!" _Renae snarled vehemently, hatred a burning ore inside her.

Izumi yelled, _"Don't threaten our friends!!"_ She whipped her head to the side and let fly her boomerang; Orpheius ducked reflexively and avoided it--only to be wrapped in the stomach with the pole. Izumi danced back before he could hit her, and Renae lunged in, hand a flash, fingers a blur as they released the senbon.

Orpheius managed to miraculously avoid all but three senbon that peirced him around the neck, just missing his fatally vital points. "So," he said softly, "you've housed with demons? And now you're willing to _die _for them?"

"Gotta problem?!" Ren yelled, throwing kunai, now, and shuriken left and right, whipping them out and hurling them faster than the human eye can follow.

"But girls," the demon said, "what have they done for you? You've no reason to help them."

The girls said nothing; they glared, eyes narrowing and hardened, but their minds began to _burn _with that evanescent thought, that dim memory. They tried to pull it to them, but it escaped when they attempted to pin it down. As they fought, they were filled with that dutiful, empty feeling of needing to _do _something, or of something to _remember, _but didn't know what.

They didn't stand a chance. They were struck down instantly. Their blood splattered across the floor, staining deep into the carpet. Kurama wasn't fast enough to catch when it happened, but Hiei had ripped off his headband; Orpheius hadn't moved but had somehow hit them down with enough force to make them bleed.

Nevertheless, both saw their blood fly; it _angered _them ((Ohhh, great...an angry Fire Koorime, and _Yoko _Kurama...Hehehehe...Wow...)).

Orpheius took a step forward; "Come on, girls. Tell me. What did these creatures you "killed" ever do for you?" He spoke with a smooth, lulling voice. "You can't remember, can you? Can you tell me when you left our base? Can you tell me anything at all? Do you _know _who you are?"

The girls lost their vigor; they silenced, faces turning to a vacuous blank.

Orpheius's red eyes were sparkling as he lured the girl's minds and thoughts from them. "You've no obligations here. You were just _confused. _As a matter of fact, those demons _hurt _you. Look at your blood."

The mercenaries' eyes strayed to the ground beside them where their blood shown red on the beige carpet. The empty unintelligence in their eyes began to fill; they were taking in Orpheius' every word.

_Hypnosis..._

When the words entered their heads, they were supposed to embrace them; to hold them close to have something they could believe in, and trust. But once again, they were being forced back into a dreamless sleep...

_"They had dropped into unconciousness; and when the dreamless sleep was born, a part of their mind died. Peices of memory, once held so dear, were now shoved into the back of their mind, subconciously being covered by older memories, that were becoming familiar once more."_

They couldn't control it any longer; when Orpheius took a step towards Renae and Izumi, both demons acted in unison.

Imagine Orpheius's surprise when the hiss of metal was the only warning of the katana flying at him, missing inches from his throat, and a flash of green betraying the whip of a dangerous and deadly thorned vine flashing out to greet his arrival at the girls' feet.

He stumbled back to avoid certain death, watching the vines wrap protectively around his slaves. when he recovered and glanced up, he was under the merciless glare of two sets of smoldering eyes, one green, one red.

"Kurama?" Hiei asked almost airily. "I do believe that this _baka teme _just attacked our _ningens."_

"I believe you're right, Hiei," Kurama said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Shall we?"

"Yes."

---

Renae's fingers twitched. She opened her eyes slowly, aware of a dark presence all around her. For the second time, she knew nothing whatsoever. Nothing at all, except for a few anonymous words whispered to her...But she wasn't sure...if she could trust them...Izumi was crying silently, mind on overdrive. It wasn't fair; she didn't understand. _What was happening...?_

A sharp clang of metal alerted them to the middle of the room, however dulled their reflexes were. They saw a Koorime surrounded by a glowing black aura and a silver-tailed kitsune preparing to fight...a red-eyed man.

Renae scooted back farther, eyes wide; her breaths became panicked as she took in the scene; she was unprepared. _What was happening?!_

Izumi followed slowly. She watched the attacks and returns with huge gray eyes. When the red-eyed man struck the kitsune, she screamed without knowing why. _"RAMA-NII!"_

**Wow. Sorry it took forever, and sorry it's so suckish. TT-TT I hope you keep reading!**

**Short Extra!: Mimi's Cooking….OF DOOM!!**

**Izzi and Ren sat on the couch; more, Ren was sprawled out and Izzi was sitting on her knees on the back of the couch. Both sniffed the air repeatedly. "Is…Is that smoke?" Izzi asked tentatively looking around as she shifted gingerly in her seat. "I hope there's not a fire in there…"**

**Ren sighed, rolling onto her side so she was taking up the entire couch. A little girl sat where she tried to stretch her feet. She turned her head very slowly and stared straight at her; the little girl burst into tears and ran away screaming, "MOMMY!! THE SCARY GIRL'S BEING MEAN!" **

"**I don't care," Ren said, undaunted as she rested her feet in the now-vacant spot. "Not my house; therefore, not my problem."**

**Izzi made a face, and drew her feet back up to the top of the couch. "Yes, but if Rama-nii finds out there was a fire here, who do you think he'd blame?"**

**Silence. Izzi let that sink in. Suddenly a high-pitched alarm went off; all the children in the foster home dutifully got in line at the door and filed out calmly; Izzi and Ren glanced at each other without moving. _Is this a daily occurrence…? _**

"**Damn her and her next _eight _generations." Ren threw herself off the couch, hit the floor, and stood, dusting herself off. She stormed into the kitchen; Izzi bounced off the couch and followed dutifully after her.**

**The moment they stepped in, they had no time to take in the ginormous ((THAT'S A WORD!! GOOGLE IT, MAN!!)) mess, or smoke that was rising to the ceiling, setting off the smoke alarm, or the emergency sprinklers that were suddenly set off, or a discarded umbrella in front of the stove, on which sat an abandoned bubbling pot; instead, something was crammed into their mouths. Ren was about to respond violently to the abrasion to their personal space—while Izzi was content with just trying to breathe—when they paused.**

**Chew. Chew. Chew. **

**Swallow.**

**Pause.**

**Izzi peered around Mimi. "As long as what I ate wasn't—or was never—alive, I would love some more."**

**Ren was standing rigidly, like she was expecting to implode at any given moment. "What did you just cram down my throat?" she asked a little fearfully.**

"**GRILLED CHEESE!" Mimi held up her hand, which, in turn, held a toasted cheese sandwich—composed more of butter than of bread or cheese. "My-style!"**

**Izzi froze, face paling. "I'm…going to die of a heart-attack…because all my arteries will have been clogged by this junk." Ren was silent, waiting for Izzi—who normally cooked all meals at the all-male house (plus Ren)—to proclaim her verdict. **

"**That was awesome!" she cried jubilantly, sopping wet by now.**

"**Yeah!" Mimi proclaimed, also drenched.**

"**I hate you both," Ren mumbled, already having stolen Mimi's other--now damp--sandwich.**

**Suddenly Kurama and Hiei, holding their jackets over their heads, ran into the kitchen. "REN! IZZI! _WHAT DID YOU DO?!_"**

"_**MIMI DID IT!"**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, finally an update! I know you've all been waiting for this!...Yeah, not really. Anywho, this was a random "Way-off-the-top-of-my-head" deal. And I'm sorry, but there will only be one Short Extra! this time. -sob- Depressing, I know.**

**I thought I'd breifly describe Ren and Izzi (Don't worry, I'll do the same for everyone's favorite Mimi at the end of the chapter.):**

_**Ren/Renae: **_**Hotheaded; a loose cannon. Greedy, rash and reckless, but not to the point of ignorance. She's headstrong and proud, but not arrogant, unless it suits her purposes. She's willing to sacrifice everything for victory, and counts on Izzi to stand by her. Only after she draws the two of them in a fatal battle will she ask for Izzi's advice. Although she's reckless, she's strong enough to back herself up when she's asking for trouble, and very rarely needs the assistence of Izzi. Considers Hiei and Kurama to be close allies, and tells herself they are nothing more; even she cannot convince herself of that. Like Izumi she tends to see the two A-class demons as older brothers, and thinks of them as such. Hiei eventually adopted her, and tends to be overly-protective of the human girl, growling or snarling when a stranger comes within a four foot radius of her; he's as gentle with her as he is with his blood sister. Calls Hiei "Jagan-nii", "Hiei-kun/kin", or "Shorty"; she's against familiar titles, but will bend and call Izumi "Iz-chan" once in a while.**

_**Izzi/Izumi:**_** A smart, rather gentle idealist. Always eager to learn; not so much to work. Her IQ is high above 200, and will continue to rise as she grows. She's forever loyal to Ren and will follow her orders to the death. The only time she'll stray from Ren's lead is when common sense advises against it. While Ren preffers bloody confrontation, Izumi is partial to stealth and silence; she'll kill her victims long before they feel pain, and each new death leaves a scar in her mind. Ren, although the most brutal, never fails to ask Izzi for her strategic advice. Izzi took immediently to Hiei and Kurama, and follows Kurama around insistently. Kurama is very gentle with her, and quietly explains his actions with a kind patience, knowing that she's very curious and highly intelligent. As Hiei did Renae, Kurama came to recognize her as a very dear little sister, and treats her like a precious gem. Izumi reffers to Kurama as "Rama-nii", "Rama-niichan" or "Nii-san".**

_Chapter 6_

_Tears_

Renae stared at Izumi. She was trembling hard, tears coursing down her cheeks as she watched desperately the fight. The strategist's hands were clenching and unclenching, nails digging into her palm so hard they drew blood. Again, the kitsune was struck to the floor. Again Izumi started, mouth opening to scream. Renae grabbed her friend and yanked her back, thinking Izumi had finally lost it. But at that moment, the Koorime, who glanced at his fallen comrade for a mere second, was suddenly thrown back to crack his head against the wall. Renae's grip on Izumi slackened. She watched in horror as the black-haired boy picked himself off the ground, blood trickling from under his bangs down the side of his face.

Orpheius cackled again. "Those girls aren't just little orphans; they're _my _mercenaries! They disobeyed me once! That's why I left them in the wood."

Izumi and Renae watched as the kitsune and Koorime's eyes tightened in anger. "You left them for dead in the forest? It was _you?" _

"Yes, well, I can't say it was my _wisest _moment, but--" His words were cut off by a rain of strokes lashed down from a katana. It's wielder snarled angrily, eyes shining in a more animal look of hatred; behind him, the kitsune was suddenly surrounded by a death plant of extreme volume: the kitsune spread his arm forward, murmuring "attack" softly, and the plants leapt forward. Orpheius was startled for a moment by the sudden ferocity of their attack.

Behind them the girls watched in horror and confusion the fight progress. _Why..._

The man managed to strike the Koorime, leaving himself open for the kitsune's attack.

_...do people fight..._

Orpheius snarled, eyes suddenly luminous as he tried to breech his attackers' minds.

_...and die for one another...?_

Their Koorime defender smirked, unafraid, and opened his third, purple eye; the kitsune folded his arms and let his red-eyed companion deal with the current development.

_Where does this sudden strength come from?_

It's mental strength battled Orpheius, and won out.

_Why are they so willing...to give it all up..._

Orpheius cursed and fell back to avoid a quick, sudden lash from a coiling green vine.

..._for us?_

---

The battle was drawing to a close.

The kitsune and Koorime had had allies, who had burst into the room with furious indignance and anger; one weilded a fiery spirit sword, the other held his right wrist, right hand clenched into a fist, with his left hand and was aiming it with deadly accuracy at Orpheius. The Koorime brought his sword up, glowing black with a cursed power, and the kitsune held his Rose Whip at the ready.

All at once, with the combined cries of, "Black Dragon!" "Rose Whip!" "Spirit Sword!" and "Reigun!" the four fell forward together, throwing their best attacks forward.

A brunette had joined Izumi and Renae upon the arrival of the spirit sword and reigun-wielding allies' arrival; and the three girls sat, rigid with fear, trembling and silently crying. When the four forces met and exploded with supreme force, they all flinched back with a startled cry. Even the two mercenaries, used to much more power than what was displayed, cried out when the Koorime and kitsune, along with their allies, were concealed in the light.

---

Kurama straightened, dusting himself off, looking anywhere but the smoking ruin of his home. Yusuke grinned helpfully, patting him on the shoulder. "There, there, Kurama," he drawled, inspecting his sooty shirt. "I'm sure I can Spirit World to totally refund any reconstruction costs, eh?"

Kuwabara groaned, stretching out his arm. "Aggghh, I can't believe it was that tough to beat the guy."

"Hn. If it weren't for the _chibi onnas, _it would never have been necessary," Hiei muttered, eyeing his katana carefully, then sheathing it. He began to wind his arm back up with the white tape he'd dropped to the floor.

"Are...we really that troublesome...?" a small voice asked suddenly.

Everyone tensed and spun around; they'd almost forgotten about the reason--or rather, reasons--they'd been fighting in the first place.

"Is...this all our fault?"

Kurama was the first to speak; "No, of course not--"

"We..." Ren looked around at the smoldering ash dusting the floor. "We're the cause of all this...?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Hiei muttered.

"You said...if it weren't for us...it wouldn't have been necessary..." Izumi whispered, watching the Koorime's face harden, hearing him curse himself under his breath.

_We...only cause trouble..._

Yusuke spread his hands. "No, no, really, it's not like that! We would've had to take him down sooner or later, right, guys? I mean, we're the Rekai Tentai, it's our _job, _right?"

..._They fight for us, and destroy their home to save us..._

Kurama silence the Spirit Detective with a strangely harsh glare. "He didn't mean it in the sense of words," the fox spirit said quickly approaching the girls. "Renae, Izumi--"

Renae stood suddenly, dragging Izzi up after her. "We'll leave."

It was instantaneous: _"WHAT?!" _Izzi glanced up at her friend in confused fear, trusting enough not to break the girl's grip on her arm, but immensely frightened by her words.

"We'll leave, and you'll never hear from us ever again," Ren said, voice rising in anger, angry tears in her eyes; an emotion that was not directed at anyone in the room; rather, at herself for suggesting what she knew could be the only possible solution. "And then you can live peacefully!" She glanced at Izzi, not needing to say a word; Izzi, scared as she was, knew what was being asked of her. Her gaze flickered suddenly, eyes darting to the open window across the room, and then back to Ren's.

Mimi clutched at them, screaming for them not to leave, and Izzi stared at her, no consoling words finding her tongue. The strategist was speechless, helpless; so Ren acted for them both. She darted across the room, dragging Izzi with her, who just managed to find her feet in time to leap out the window.

Everyone started; Mimi cried out and tried to pursue them, but Yusuke caught and held her back. She was crying; and she buried her face in Yusuke's shoulder, wrapping her small arms around him. He looked at her sadly, and then glared up at Kurama and Hiei. "Well? Aren't you going after them?"

"Damn it, Yusuke," Hiei hissed suddenly, turning ferocious eyes to the detective. "What good will it do to find them if they don't wish to return?"

"Nevermind that, you two." Both look over to Kurama, who looked calmly composed and spoke softly; however, when he opened his eyes, they were cold and flashed even though the lamp in the room had not moved. "We got them back once. We sure as hell aren't going to lose them again."

---

Izzi was vaguely aware of Ren's tight grip on her wrist; she could slightly recall being told to hide her aura, which she did slowly; she could recall a force trying to enter her mind, and was aware of fighting it, only because Ren had told her to.

Now she sat at the airport, huddled on the bench beside the large window. Her dazedness had long since left her, and now she just cried softly, hiccuping and rubbing at her eyes. She looked rather pathetic; she was still garbed in her normal wear--black buckled combat boots, past the knees black shorts, white sleevless "_Sacrifice" _hoodie. Ren was still wearing the black pants, soft black shoes, and white words with the words "I Bite" blocked across it.

Renae glanced over at her friend, who sat with her knees drawn to her chest, face buried in her arms so only her eyes could peer out at the large hanger. Ren felt compelled, as upset and agitated as she was to go and ruffle her hair. "C'mon, Iz," she said as helpfully as she could. "It'll be okay. We'll get by."

"That's not it..." Izzi muttered tearfully, speaking in abrupt gulps.

"Then what is it, Iz?" Ren asked, and then suddenly regretted her question.

_"I MISS RAMA-NIICHAN!!" _she screamed; Ren winced and covered her ears quickly as a reflex.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ren wrapped her arm around Izzi's head, grabbing that arm's wrist to hold her friend against her tightly, muffling any sounds the girl might make. Everyone was staring at them. Ren blinked at them all, then tried to think up a convincing lie. "Uhhh, sorry about that! We're on our way to, uhh...see our _aunt _and our parents just dropped us off...Rama-niichan is her _teddy bear, _and she lost that last night, so..." Ren laughed hesitantly, rubbing the back of her neck. This explanation seemed to satisfy, for everyone turned back to their own conversations.

---

The woman smiled at the extremely polite red-haired youth and nodded, happy to assist him. "Why, yes, there were two little girls here."

"Ah--could you tell me what plane they got on?" he asked, a faint trace of desperation lacing his voice.

The woman checked her computer. "Umm...Flight 121, headed for New York, I think..."

_New York? _"Pardon me, but are they still boarding?" Kurama asked, straining to keep his voice calm.

"Yes, the boarding will continue for a few moments more..."

"Might we have a couple of tickets? Two, please?"

Listening to them, a few young stewardesses sighed. "I wish _every _guy was so cute and polite," one gushed languishly. "Wouldn't that be great?"

Hiei threw them a heated glare; they caught it and kind of edged away. _Hn. How demeaning._

---

They sat silently in the two seats closest to the window. Izzi had her face pressed against it, tears silently coursing down her cheeks. Ren was fidgiting, eyes darting from one place to another. Finally she stood, and hurried to the bathroom. She yanked the locked door open and pulled the lady--who was primping her hair (why for a flight, I honestly do not know...)--out. She shoved inside and locked the door behind her, glancing angrily into the mirror.

That was when she finally cried.

---

Izzi heard Ren leave, but said nothing. She kept her silence even when the dark haired girl returned; she could faintly smell the scent of tears ((only a ten year old mercenary could do that...-shifty gaze-)) but didn't question. She found herself unable to care. Ren left a seat empty between them.

_I'm not mad at onee-chan...I'm mad at the world...How could things be so unfair? How...could it all go so wrong? Our nii-sans came back...and they helped us...again...And Mimi-chan...she was there...but afterwards...we ran away...W-We had to, though, we were making our nii-sans miserable...Aghh, I don't know!_

A flash of red caught her eye, and she peered closely out the window. _Was that...? No. No, it couldn't be..._

"What?"

Iz tensed at Ren's voice. "Nothing. Just thought I saw something."

"_What?"_

Izumi wasn't impressed by Renae's anger; she didn't cower at the fury in the other girl's voice, or apologize for rousing the Ren's anger as Izzi's good nature implied. Instead she muttered, "I thought I saw Rama and Hiei-nii. I'm sorry. I was mistaken."

Ren's hand raised, as though to hit her. Izzi spun on her, snarling, _"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME! YOU ASKED!"_

Ren's expression fell; she lowered her arm slowly, smoothing the action as though she'd been going for the magazine in the seat between them the entire time. She flicked it open, one eye on Izzi, who continued her gazing out the window.

_Feh. Idiot. _Ren flipped the page. _So consumed by lonliness. So easily hindered by the sight of friends in peril--or friends who are hurting. _She recalled familiar words._ Friends...are a crutch for the weak. One is so easily dissuaded from the path fate has layed before them at a single word spoken by their friend; they find themselves ready to give up anything--everything--without a single shadow of hesitation in their heart. They will race to their friend's aid despite the consequences they might face later. They will remember every kind deed every done them, and will return it, no matter how long it takes. They will lull their friends to sleep with a soothing lullaby, stroke their hair, rub their arms, keep them warm only by being near. They don't care about any punishment; they don't care even if their life is at stake. The only thought on their mind would be of their friend's safety._

_  
Iz...Iz-chan is a perfect example of that person. She's always so ready--so willing--to help me, that I never really think about it. I _expect_ it of her. I am fully expectant of her loyalty, of her smiling curiosity, that I've come to take her for granted. She doesn't mind; she'll follow me to the death; loyally let me lead her into the bloodiest, stupidest battle. She'll advise against it, and try to turn me away, but even if I'm hotheaded and ignore her, and even if she dissapears from me, I know she'll return not even moments later._

_She hates fighting--she hates seeing her enemies fall beneath her--and it really breaks her heart each time she does. But she knows that she must get by, and does whatever it takes to survive. She tries so hard to harden her heart, and each time it tenders when she spots an ailed passerby, it only hurts so much more._

_I, however, am different._

_  
I don't care._

_I don't care about anyone but myself. How can I? I am the only one I can trust. I don't need anyone. I don't need _anyone. _Izumi may. She's weak. She's _always _been weak. How can someone with friends be powerful? How can they focus on the fight with someone lingering behind them they have to protect? How can she do anything when her "FRIENDS" are at her back, begging her for protection?! No! It isn't true--no one can be strong if they have connections to someone outside themself! It doesn't work that way! You're either alone and powerful, or surrounded by people clinging to you for your strength, and weak. Weak. What a bitter word. I hate it. I WILL NEVER BE WEAK! THERE IS NO ONE I HAVE TO PROTECT! I am my _own _person, and as such I am completely responsible only for myself! I WILL NOT BE TIED TO ANYONE! I DONT NEED ANYONE!_

**Gonna end it here. Sorry!! I know it was short, but I was rushed and I wanted to update ASAP so none of you forgot about this humble little fic. Reviews are, as always, appreciated!**

**No Short Extra!: THE END OF THE WORLD!! I SHOULD GO SHOOT MYSELF NOW BECAUSE WITHOUT THE SHORT EXTRA! MY LIFE HAS NO MEANING!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Finally, an update! Thanks for reading this far, guys! I'm glad you like it! Not much to say here, other than LEZZ GET STARTED! But...okay, fine, I'll say something. This chappie is a little insight to our favorite mercenaries' past. 'Kays? Great! **_**Now **_**lezz go.**

_Chapter 7_

_Fate and Family_

_Life. Death. No in between. What's the point of living...just to kill? Why should somone try...if someone else is out to make them fail? There can be no correspondance between good and evil; just as there can be none for life or death. There are heroes, and there are villains. The protectors, and the protected. The winners, and the failures. Black and white. Contrast. Difference. No one can ever take another's place; no matter who they are. You will remain in your pedistool bestowed upon you by life's hand. If you were ever truely weak, you will never be strong. _

_There is nothing that can alter fate's course._

_Our existences simply coast through the sky, following destiny's string. Nothing can cut it; a brave act, a voice of courage, are all lost in destiny's tide. _

_I have tried to be strong...for others...never for myself...I have never seen the need for violence...but someone I care for has; so, I fought. I blindly followed her, taking her orders without hesitation, cutting down anyone in my way of doing so. I was ignorant; stupid, despite my supposedly vast realm of knowledge. I lacked the courage to break away from her, and I lacked the will to survive on my own. So, I decided to live for her. I gave myself entirely to her command; she accepted me, sealing my fate._

_Throughout time, I came to see her as a very dear friend, closer to me than anything else. _

_Time..._

_So fleating--here one instant, gone the next. Already, ten years have gone by since my birth. I've never celebrated the eve of that day--the day of my coming into existence. I've even forgotten what day it was; it has never held any meaning to me. My commander, my friend, shared with me all her thoughts; her views, her fears. I couldn't dwell on selfish thoughts, and still be a loyal subject._

_I needed her: and thus, I am weak._

_All of my finer memories were the ones that came before we met Orpheius. Then my thoughts turned bitter, my mind dark. I found I had to obey a different, cruel, cold commander; someone other than my own. We became equals; but I could never match her strength. _

_Orpheius...made promises; and never kept them. He rewarded disobedience with pain. Such pain I had never felt before, and have never felt since. My commander took her punishments in silence; but I could not. I screamed--but even I could not bring myself to beg for pity from this man._

_Four Years Previous..._

_(Tokyo, Japan)_

_"Onee-chan!"_

_Ren glanced down from her perch in the tree to see Izzi standing on the ground below, hands cupped around her mouth, calling out her name with a grin. Ren smirked and drawled, "Waddayou want, kid?"_

_Izzi jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "There are a few demons up ahead. They look pretty wealthy; should we try 'em? We haven't had a decent haul in ages."_

_Ren flipped from a seated position onto her hands, resting all her weight on her hands for a perilous second, and then pushed off, arching into a delicate bow and landing lithely on her feet in a crouched posture. "'Course we'll try 'em," Ren whispered with a smug look. "It's only polite to introduce ourselves to our new neighbors."_

_Izzi followed submissively after Ren, her steps too bouncy to be considered humble, their footfalls melting away into utter silence. _

_It all happened too quickly; they should never have veered near the campsite._

_"Schist, Iz," Ren whistled low, kicking at the chest of money. "When you told me you thought they were wealthy, you didn't say they were __**rolling **__in it." When she got no response, abashed, apologetic, or playfull, she glanced up. Iz was frozen in place, staring over Ren's shoulder, eyes dulling unintelligently. Ren frowned, and turned slowly around, eyes scanning to see what had upset her colleague._

_-x-_

_"Are you going to attack again?"_

_Orpheius struck her down beside her companion. She took a deep trembling breath, eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she glared at the man. Beside her, she could feel the Iz's fluttering heartbeat, her uneven breathing. "Iz," she hissed so softly she wasn't sure the strategist could hear her. "What approach should I take?" __**I need to get her talking, **__Ren thought acidly, glaring spitfire at her opponent. __**Then I can take this jerk-off down. **_

_"...Go...to the left...work for speed...not for strength...hit him from below...Like...like...a snake..."_

_Ren ground her teeth into a furious grin. "Good girl."_

_Ren pitched herself forward, lurching to her feet and making a stumbling dash across the room to where Orpheius stood. As she ran, low and fast, as per Izzi, she picked up the strategist's abandoned bar and spun it clumsily in her hand. __**Damn...how does she use this thing?! I wish I had my senbon...**__ She brought the bar back over her shoulder, gauging it's weight and the distance between herself and Orpheius. Before she landed any strike, she was blown back, hitting the wall, cracking her head against it, and sliding to a crumpled heap in the floor._

_"Girls, girls..." the man said almost soothingly as he took measured steps to them. "You cannot defeat me; you are too weak. But I can help you--I can make you strong. What do you say? Will you learn under me?"_

_Ren knew it was either that, or death. She couldn't feel her arms or legs; her breathing was a faint rhythm somewhere in the distance. She glanced at Izzi without moving--she'd make the decision for them both, knowing that Iz wouldn't stand beside her anyway._

_"Yes."_

_And that was the beginning of their living nightmare._

_Present Day..._

Ren snarled softly to herself as the plane left the runway, still ripping out the pages of the magazine. It was when she reached one of the glossy underpages in the middle that she paused. There was a picture there...of two bloodred eyes staring back at her. She leaned in closer, intent on them, when they blinked. She nearly swallowed her heart, biting back a gasp. _A reflection._

Izzi was intent on the window, oblivious to the person a seat away. She heard a muffled thump as Ren's magazine hit the floor, and muttered, "If you're going to be immature, keep it up. If not, pick up what you..."

She could feel someone behind her.

She kept her eyes locked on the window as she began to tremble. _Who could it be? _she thought tremulously, gaze intensifying on the glass. _Who could--_

Izzi spun around so suddenly, she very nearly hurtled herself off the seat. A livid Koorime was crouched on the back of Ren's seat, completely lifeless and unmovind, like a gargoyle; he was making no effort to contain the fury that smoldered in his eyes: rather than meet his gaze, Ren had ducked her head, hair curtaining her face, and did nothing.

"I'm greatly dissapointed in you two." Izumi felt a pang at hearing the kitsune's voice. He stood behind her seat, looking down on her with a superior gaze. "After all the things we've done for you, you thought that leaving would be for the best?" Kurama stopped talking abruptly; nothing he said could change the resignation he could see in the gray-eyed girl staring up at him. "We cannot make you return; but know that our doors are always open to you. We will always welcome you back. ...Whichever you are." It was clear that the Koorime and the kitsune didn't know if they were dealing with Ren and Izzi, or Renae and Izumi.

_Even if we are mercenaries...they'll take us back?_

Hiei said nothing, just allowed his friend to talk for them both.

_They'll give us a place to stay...food, shelter...love...and expect nothing in return?_

Kurama turned away, and Hiei leapt from his perch to land soundlessly beside him.

_How is that right? That's not fair...how can that be true? You gain when you lose; you take when you give. We've nothing to offer them, except our mere presence. ...Is that enough, in their eyes?_

Kurama had taken a few steps away, when a small voice cried, "W...Wait..." He stopped. There was a slight scuff of clothes on polyester, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Izzi attempting to crawl over the seat after him. "P...Please...don't leave us again..." Tears were streaming unhidered down her cheeks, the first time either Hiei or Kurama had seen the little girl cry, and Kurama's arms went out instinctively to catch her should she fall.

She did, and landed safely against him, crying, "_Don't leave, Rama-niichan!"_

It wasn't Izumi--it was Izzi. Well, it was both Izumi _and _Izzi, since all memories were present in the girl's mind again. But it wasn't just the awkwardly silent, unsure, hesitant strategist; it was the clumsy, intelligent, affectionate girl.

Hiei watched silently that display of emotion. Then Kurama said softly, "Hiei, your _onna _is crying."

The Koorime's eyes widened the slightest fraction, and he sketchily dissapeared, reappearing on the back of Ren's seat. Nothing was said between them; Hiei could smell her tears. He simply dropped his cloak over her head, and she tightened it around herself.

**Sorry about how long it took me to post this chapter!! I had it written for a long time, I was just struggling with the Short Extra! for a while. That's why it's so bad. -strangled sob- Kyahh! Keep reading!! The story's far from over!!**

**Short Extra!: Alternate Ending OF DOOM!**

**Ren and Izzi sat a seat apart, glaring daggers in the opposite direction. Ren grabbed a magazine, and experimentally ripped a page of the magazine. When Izzi didn't reprimand her, she did it again. Still no reproach. Finally, after a few more pages littered the ground, Ren gave up and thrust the magazine away from her. Just wasn't the same when Izzi didn't berate her.**

**Then, an elderly woman with hair roughly the size of Rhode Island turned around in her seat, the row in front of the mercenaries'. "Well, hello, dear," she said kindly, smiling. She was unfased by the glare she recieved instead of a salutation. "Would you like to meet my kitty? His name is Mr. Fluffy-Mc. Honeykins."**

**Ren's jaw worked silently at that. "Mr...No, I don't **_**care. **_**I don't wanna see your damn cat!"**

**The lady had cats **_**everywhere. **_**They were playing **_**on **_**her hair: not in, **_**on. **_**They were in her bags--the God-damn hag snuck 'em in with her luggage!**

**After a few moments, Ren screamed, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF YOUR DAMN CATS!"**

**"Oh, well, I also have a dog--"**

**With a shreik worthy of an enraged Keiko, Ren grabbed the little drowned rat-cat-squirrel-weasel-like-dog-thing and booted it up the aisle and into first class.**

**Next to her, Izzi, who'd been attacked by Mr. Fluffy-Mc. Honeykins, chucked the white fluffy mass after the dog.**

**---**

**The Rekai Tentai sat tensed and alert in the first class section of the plane. Suddenly, a dog flew and hit Hiei in the back of the head; it went **_**in **_**his hair. He kind of twitched, glaring up at it. **

**"Who would throw a dog?!" the Koorime snarled.**

**Kurama kind of raised his hands in a patting gesture, and then paused. "Who **_**would **_**throw a dog?"**

**Yusuke, from where he sat behind them with Kuwabara, leaned up and said wisely, "An angry Ren," and sank back again.**

**And then, just as suddenly, angry yowls filled the air. Kuwabara, hearing a cat, leaned out into the aisle to check it out, and was hit in the face by an enraged Persian. He screamed, following to the floor and writhing and shreiking until Yusuke pulled the cat off him and set in his lap, murmuring softly, "**_**My precious."**_

**Everyone paused and stared at him. He shrugged sheepishly, dropping the purring cat back onto Kuwbara where it resumed it's previous attack. "Sorry, I've always wanted to do that."**

**The dog in Hiei's hair yipped, "Arf!"**

**Snarling, Hiei reached up with both arms and bodily hurled it forward. It hit the wall, and slid to the floor. Yusuke and Kuwabara stared after it as it trotted off stage.**

**---**

**Ren was twitching. The old lady was talking insistently shoving moth eaten photos in front of her face of various deceased mammals--some weren't even mammals--and telling it's life story.**

**"LADY!!!" she screamed. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR CATS, YOUR DOGS, YOUR RABBITS, YOUR GUINEA PIGS, YOUR OSTRICHES, YOUR WILDEBEASTS, YOUR FLYING PIGS--!!!!!!!"**

**"Well, dear, I also have a hamster--"**

**"I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON THE GODDAMN HAMSTER!!"**

**Short Extra!: End**


	8. Chapter 8

**Guys, I won't be able to update again for a while. Camp. -sobs- SORRY!! I'd drag my laptop down there if I could, but for some reason, they've got something against electronics. -mutters- Low-tech **_**temes.**_

**Good news? A SHORT EXTRA!!! **_**WHOOOOO!! **_

**Short Extra!: After ze Movies Adventure...OF DOOM!!**

**"Awww, man, that was an awesome movie!" Yusuke said with a grin. Mimi smiled up at him, agreeing quite loudly as she repeated all her favorite parts. **

**"Hiei," Kurama said, still smiling after the unexpected and rather hilarious ending. "Where are the girls?"**

**Hiei looked around, and his gaze stopped to Kurama's left. Kurama followed his gaze over to where Ren and Izzi were huddled around a small crane machine. When the Rekai Tentai approached, they suddenly cheered and spun to face them.**

**"We spent all our money on this little cow," Izzi said, holding her hand out palm-up to show Team Urameshi their prize: a cow about the size of an acorn, maybe smaller. "But it's a nice little cow."**

**Suddenly, something caught Ren's eye behind the people they were talking with. A "BLING BLING FAKE ICE" crane machine. She gasped with pleasure. "We need some **_**bling bling **_**to pimp our cow," she said, racing over to it. **

**Izzi followed after holding up her pinky and index finger. "Yeah, dawg."**

**Short Extra!: End**

_Chapter 8_

_School_

The day was a dismal one. The rain fell in soft petals, as though some divine being were crying over the earth. The sky was a dark gray, and the rain clouds loomed over ground, cruel and unwelcoming. Humans walked up and down the street in the mild weather holding different colored umbrellas, some talking with a friend or some with several. However, one figure among them wearing all black strode forward, seemingly alone, the rain streaming unhindered down to hit him.

His crimson eyes flashed as people watched him; Pathetic ningens. They quickly looked away, rather than meet his livid fiery gaze. He walked easily through the rain, seemingly steaming in the falling element, until he reached the kitsune's house.

Walking up the path to the front door, he rest his hand against the doorknob--

--and a loud scream greeted him from somewhere inside.

He immediately spun around and started back towards the road.

_Hiei if you do not get in here and help us, I will physically and/or mentally harm you._

From the tone of the animal spirit's voice, he would do just that.

So Hiei, with an insolent "Hn", turned back to the door.

---

"SCHOOL?!"

Kuwabara physically shrank back from the incredulous wrath of the two miniature mercenaries. Izumi was more incredulous, Ren more wrathful (Is that a word?). Kurama didn't answer, but calmly turned to the Koorime's entrance. "Ah, Hiei, so good to see you."

Hiei stared at him: it wasn't a glare, just an open stare as though to say "Why the hell do you drag me into this?"

"_Rama-niichan," _Izzi murmured, looking up at him with huge dolefull eyes (No, she wasn't playacting.) "W-We just got back a few days ago! After all that, we have to go to school?"

The only ningen of the Rekai Tentai snickered when Kurama visibly wilted. "It's not my decision," he said, almost pleadingly if a fox spirit could plead. "It's the government's. Now that you're registered, you have to go to school." When Izzi lowered her gaze sadly, her nii-san felt compelled to ruffle her hair. But Ren wasn't finished.

"Well, then why the hell were we registered?"

Hiei left.

Kurama sighed. "Okay, how about this: if you don't go to school, me and your Jagan-nii will get in trouble with the human authorities. And then Koenma-ojisan's father would find out," he continued, using Izzi's nickname for the spirit prince. "And then we could get in trouble with the _un_human authorities."

Renae slowly shut her mouth. Her expression was feirce, mouth quivering as she desperately tried to come up with some other argument.

"But what if...we hurt someone?" Izzi asked softly.

This concern was met with silence. Even the kitchen was silent as Hiei quit digging through the groceries to listen. Kurama studied them. Ren was fidgeting, trying not to look worried, and Izzi was limp. So Kurama smiled, putting a hand on both of their heads. "There's no doubt in my mind that you two have excellently trained your reflexes, and you're senses. You'll be fine."

It was a great compliment from the usually silent kitsune; but the moment was ruined by a sudden crash that made everyone leap a foot in the air. It was Yusuke; everyone was so caught off guard because the team had taken to sheilding their aura so they were undectable, except to one another--but faint traces of the mental wall trickled through sometimes, making them invisible to each other even when they weren't trying to be.

Anyway, Yusuke looked thrilled; and the person sitting on his shoulders was even more so. "Atsuko-kasan let Yusuke adopt me!" she screamed wildly, flapping her arms. "I'm not an orphan anymore, Iz, Ren!"

Any dark thoughts harboring their minds vanished; Ren kind of smiled, while Izzi raced to where Mimi dropped off of Yusuke's shoulders, took her hands, and the two kind of danced around. "That's great!" she said happily. "You're practically family now!"

As the three girls celebrated--Ren was dragged into the ceremonies--Yusuke grinned helplessly at his team. "Hehehe...What can I say, the kid grew on me."

Kuwabara looked put-out. "Now I'm the only one without a kid."

Everyone turned dry expressions on him: finally Yusuke said, "You have a cat."

"Oh, right! I have Aikichi!" (You know, that kitten that the bad peoples held as hostage the day Yusuke was brought back to life?)

This made Ren and Izzi glance sidelong at each other.

"Well, we gotta head out," Yusuke said about ten minutes later. "Mom wants to take Mimi shopping for room stuff." The look of sadness on his face sent the team into hysterical gales of laughter ((excluding Iz and Ren's guardians: one chuckled, while the other kind of smirked.))

"Bye Iz-chan! Bye Ren-chan! Bye Rama-san! Bye Hiei-san! Bye Kuwaba--"

_"Oh, just come on!"_

---

"Rama-nii?"

"Jagan-nii?"

The two waited a few seconds to mentally prepare themselves before turning to look at their charges. They were beaming up at them.

"We've decided we'll go to school willingly," Izumi chirped cheerily.

Both demons waited expectantly: Ren did not dissapoint them.

_"If _we can have a pet!"

There was silence.

"A pet?"

"Each."

---

"Oooohhh!! Rama-nii! I want him!"

Kurama turned to look around, and smiled. Izumi was on the ground, laughing as a dog licked her face. He was shaggy and black, with a white patch over one of his eyes, one of his paws, and one of his ears. He looked just as happy to lick her as she was to pet him. The shopkeeper stared. Kurama noticed, and question the look aloud.

"A-Ah...it's just...that dog hates everyone," the stunned man said. "He was in the back room with a few birds and some ferrets. Those animals just won't sell because they try to bite anyone around them."

As if on cue, Ren skipped out of the back room, a white ferret sitting on her head. He had red eyes, and a black line down his back. "Hiei-kin! Hiei-kin, I want this guy!"

Hiei glanced at it. "Hn."

Kurama looked at the shopkeeper. "How big is the dog going to get?"

The man raised his arms in the defensive. "It's a mutt! They grow to different sizes!"

Kurama sighed, and looked back at Izzi, who was kneeling in front of the dog, who sat in the begging position in front of her. She raised her left hand, and he mimicked the motion with his left paw. She raised her right hand; up went the right paw. She giggled and huggled the puppy, who licked her. He glanced at Ren, who had the ferret sitting on her wrist.

"Okay, Mokie," the girl was whispering. "You sneak in, pull the _red _cord, and that'll activate the fire alarm. After that..." And the ferret was _listening._

So Kurama knelt by Izumi. "What are you going to name him?"

She beamed at him. "Panda!"

---

They were told that they would just look around the classroom, and meet the teacher. So while Kurama and Hiei talked to the woman, Izumi and Renae were poised by the door. After a few moments, Izumi glanced over her shoulder, in time to see Kurama and Hiei sprinting around the side of the building; having snuck out through the window.

"AAAAGHHHH!! _TRAITORS!! VILE SCUM OF TRAITORISM!!!" _

Izumi began yanking on the door, but her feet were on it too (you know how anime charries do that? pull on something, but have their feet against it, too?), so she was getting no where. Ren started beating at the small rectangular window--the kind with the wire mesh in it--with some hopes of breaking it.

Suddenly, the door's lock latch flew up--Izumi went flying across the room, hitting several desks, sliding until she met the wall; Ren was smashed between the door and the wall, slowly dying of lack of oxygen.

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

---

When Kurama and Hiei arrived to pick them up, they were sitting in the middle of the room, while all the other children were pressed to the walls, or under chairs, staring up at them in horror.

"YOU!"

Both demons flinched.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE US?!?!?! WE DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACES!!"

Kurama smiled. "But don't you want ice cream?"

Hiei glared at them. "You want ice cream."

"YES!" both girls chorused, hugging their guardians like they'd never screamed. "We love you so much!"

**Rushed, and lame, for this I apologize. **

**TWO WEEKS.**

_**TWO WEEKS. **_**Read my profile for information, but I won't be able to update anything for at least two weeks. I'M SORRY! Don't give up on me yet, please!**

**Short Extra!: Late For School...DOOMY SCHOOL!!**

**The two ran in about ten minutes late. "SORRY WE'RE LATE!!! There was thing at the place and we had to help out!" Izumi panted wildly.**

**"And we had to help the peoples with the stuff!" Ren wheezed alongside her.**

**"Oh," Iz said suddenly, "you mean those people?"**

**"Maybe."**

**"The ones with the faces? And that dog?"**

**"No, the other people. With the cat and the bird? And the hair?"**

**"Ohh...You man the ones without faces and no dog?"**

**"No, down the street from them. At the place. With the things."**

**"Oh! The one things, right?"**

**"Right."**

**The class and the teacher stared at them, minds about to fry.**

**Izzi frowned. "What were we talking about again?"**

**"Eh? Oh, I dunno. Would you like a cookie?"**

**Short Extra!: End**

**Yes. Doomy is a word.**


	9. Chapter 9

**PLEASE READ ALL MY NOTES! THEY IS IMPORTANT!...Sort of...Okay, they're not, but they make me feel important! -dives into safe room- Nooo! The sun is a monster! It wants to hurt me!...((From **_**Benchwarmers...**_**Great movie...Richie and Howie were the best...))**

**This one is grateful for all of your reviews! I'm really glad that you're enjoying this fic! (I've taken to calling myself that. Motivation: Rurouni Kenshin.) Okay, down to business. -determined glare-**

**Note: Mokie is from the last chapter; Ren's ferret. Panda is Izumi's puppy.**

**'Nother Note: THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO YOUKO1776!! Arigato, Youko-dono!**

**Again, A Note: While this one is grateful, I still feel kinda bad. XDD I shouldn't have thougth about taking this story down, when all of you are enjoying. Even if but one person read, isn't it my duty as an author to keep writing anyway?...Or is that too melodramatic?**

**These Notes Are Getting Ridiculous: I tried bolding words for emphasis this time around to see how I like it. I'm still deliberating on whether or not I like the outcome...**_Italics _**are, obviously, Japanese words. I might have missed a few though, going over it... -**.**- Yeah.**

**Last Note: The songs I was listening to while writing this chapter are **_**Breaking the Habit **_**and **_**What I've Done **_**by Linkin Park, and **_**Roses Are Red **_**by Aqua. If any of you want a great Kurama video, PM me. One is an OVA sung by the Japanese voice actor of Kurama, and the other is to **_**Roses Are Red. **_**They're both kick-ass.**

**Short Extra!: Random Chat of Doom**

**Panda: What do you think of last night's mission, eh, onee-sama?**

**Mokie: Feh. The Rekai Tentai were stupid enough to touch that orb thingy that Koenma said was sacred and crap.**

**Panda: Ne, that's true.**

**Mokie: cause they are teenagers, and thus, naive**

**Mokie: and stupid**

**Panda: -pokes at word 'stupid'-**

**Mokie: -Stupid eats Iz's hand- Or should I say stupidly brave?**

**Mokie: It's never glowed before... and they touch it**

**Panda: -blinks at bleeding stump- Hmmm..**

**Mokie: -hits Stupid- Give it back! Stupid: -whines and spits out hand- -pants like dog-**

**Panda: -stitching hand back on- So, is onee-chan looking for ze file?**

**Short Extra!: End**

_Chapter 9_

_Abduction: Seperation: ANGRY FUCKING GUARDIANS_

The future is not a set thing.

One decision made by a single person, no matter how small, can alter the entire history of the world. If one person said one thing different; if one action went undone, one word unsaid, the future will be rewritten. As time flows like a trickling stream, it ultimately will meet a river, and thus the ocean.

Time will go on.

It does so in various leaps and jumps, never standing still, always racing ahead to produce another second, a minute, an hour, a day. Days build up into months, and months into years. Though hours seem to drag so slowly, the night will suddenly appear, darkness crawling over the sky, sheilding the golden rays from the earth; and you will wonder where the time has gone.

We can tell you where time, thought of as the most precious of currency, has dissapeared to.

Mokie ate it.

---

"Jagan-_nii_," came a bored drawl from where Ren was curled up in the backseat with Hiei's cloak and Mokie. "Where are we going?"

Kurama turned to smile at the speaker from the middle row when Hiei offered no response. "Atsuko-_san_ was kind enough to offer to drive us all to the park."

Now Ren looked up at him, an incredulously blank look on her face. "The **park**_." _((She was woken up at five o'clock am for this one.))

Hiei rolled his eyes toward the roof of the car. "Oh, for--" He leaned in close to his _chibi onna, _and growled softly, "Remember Koenma-_ojisan_?" (His dubbed name as per Iz.)

Ren blinked, realization dawning on her. "Oh. I see. It sounds so obvious, now that you say it."

Izumi was sleeping soundly, sprawled across Kurama's lap. He, Hiei, and Yusuke shared the first row behind the driver's and passenger's seat in the van, and behind them was Keiko, Botan and Kuwabara. In the passenger's seat was Shizune. Lying contentedly on Izumi was her now constant companion, Panda. Kurama absently stroked the sleeping dog, and asked, "Yusuke...Will your mother be accompanying us?"

"Hell no!" Yusuke cackled. "She said that there was no way in hell she'd get involved in anything else concerning all of us." He was positively radient as he quoted her. Kurama and Hiei had no doubt whatsoever that Yusuke **would **invite all of them in anything he did from that point on, just to keep his mother out of it.

"Hn. _Baka_," Hiei muttered as his eyes followed the traffic.

---

"Wo-o-o-ow!" Izumi sheilded her eyes against the glare of the sun as they watched the portal appear. "A portal to Spirit World! So cool!"

Ren was watching the nova with interest. She peered around it, behind it. "Eh...I wonder how it works." When Iz opened her mouth, no doubt to give an invariably long and drawn out science lesson, Renae clapped a hand over her mouth. "You know what? I'll look it up later."

"Come on, _chibi onnas_." Hiei crossed his arms and glared at the portal. "Let's just get this over with."

---

The air in the office was tense enough to make George wander over and push the window open. Koenma sat anxiously at his desk, trying to stamp papers and getting mixed results: in one case he managed to knock over every five-foot-tall stacks of documents on his desk; and in another he spilt ink over all the papers he'd successfully gathered and re-stacked. George watched as he took on the form of a young human teenager, and frowned. His Prince's hands were shaking so badly, he could hardly hold his seal stamp.

"Koenma, sir...What's wrong?"

The ogre was met with two very upset brown eyes, warm with uncertainty and actual fear. "It's Father," he said at once, fidgeting nervously. "He said...You know those mercenaries Kurama and Hiei adopted?"

"Well, I think so, sir." George was confused now. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"Well...my Father has come to believe that they know too much about the goings-on at Spirit World; he thinks that should they return to their old ways, they would be extremely dangerous," Koenma said, with much waving of the arms. "And that's true. It's just..." Here the tall Prince kind of wailed. "I don't think they'd do that!"

George, intrigued now, pressed, "Why's that, sir?"

"They're _completely devoted _to the Rekai Tentai--especially so to the aforementioned demons. If only Father would see they would never betray us; that thing with the memory loss was no one's fault but that...that...(Insert curse word of your choice here) who trained them to be mercenaries in the first place. Yusuke's managed to turn two dangerous homicidal theives into loyal--when it suits them--subjects of Spirit World, and he made Botan happy--you know she hated ferrying souls, despite the laughs. I'm sure he can handle two little girls the same way, especially with the help of his team." ((Botan's part of his team, ne?))

Koenma collapsed back into his chair, sweeping his cape out to the side. "Ughh, this isn't **fair**! Why is it always **me**? Yusuke's my detective, and he and Botan are my best friends. Why is it **I'm **the one who has to go and ruin things for them all the time." Koenma looked so miserable when he folded his arms on the desk and rested his chin on his sleeves, that George didn't have the heart to point out that it was his job as Prince of Spirit World, and that he shouldn't get so attatched to his subjects anyway.

So instead the ogre peered out the open window. "Don't worry about it, sir. The Rekai Tentai always bounce back."

Koenma smiled, but his heart wasn't in it.

"I...I really hope so..."

---

"Botan..." Koenma looked at her with a resigned sadness.

The blue-haired messenger of death hadn't been her normal cheerful self, and everyone noticed; and now she nodded, pink eyes warm and sparkling. Yusuke and Kurama frowned, Yusuke opening his mouth to inquire--

"Ren-_chan_, Izumi-_chan_," Botan held out her arms to the girls as she spoke, smiling vaguely, "come on. Let's go explore the halls."

Izumi and Ren exchanged imperceptable sidelong glances; while it was true Ren didn't care much for the peppy ferry girl, even she knew when to heed to another's wishes. So she and Izumi, who enjoyed questioning Botan--who enjoyed answering--on every custom of the palace, which led to a slight friendship between the two, went over to her, one on each side, gripping her hand with their's. They looked questioningly up at her, Izumi murmuring, "Botan-_dono_...What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing!" she said with so much false happiness that even Hiei scowled. "Let's just go, okay? I'll let you fly my oar around while I dig us up some ice cream."

She bribed them out of the room, and the laughter of the younger girls echoed off the walls as the trio made their way down the hall.

"So what's up, Koenma?" Yusuke asked finally, turning to face the miserable Prince. "What's got you so put-out?"

"I'm...really sorry..."

"Wha...?" Yusuke, concerned now, strode up to the brunnette, pulling him from his chair. "What are you talking about?"

"It was Father's decision!" the heir insisted, still looking more anxious than they had seen him.

"Out with it!" Kuwabara snapped.

Koenma slowly turned his gaze to Kurama and Hiei, whose eyes tightened; that was their only reaction to his morose gaze. But his next words made both demon's eyes widen, both of them loose their poised stature, kind of limpen where they stood; but only for a moment. Then their eyes were burning with a livid, murderous fire, and one gripped the hilt of his katana tightly, uncatching it from the sheath with a sharp _click, _while the other swiftly pulled a rose from matching crimson hair:

"Those two little girls who were just with you...they're gone."

And then a guilty George opened the door directly behind them, and the Rekai Tentai found themselves being sucked through a portal back to the park, but not before shouting a few choice words at their superior, that had more than the desired effect. Koenma let his head fall onto his desk, and he brought his hands to his hair. "_Damn you, Father."_

At the park, Team Urameshi was less than happy. In fact, the park seemed ill at ease as well. Trees were growing to a monstrous size, bushes were exploding into an unnatural growth, and the grass was about three feet tall and counting, disrupting sidewalks and the fountain in the center of the park. Fire, likewise, had burned a ring around the group, upsetting Keiko and the other mortals there, minus Kuwabara (whose too dense to show fear at Hiei and Kurama's wrath), and the flames were getting taller and taller, licking angrily at the sky.

Their team captain didn't try to dissuade them from their anger. He just scowled at the sky, eyes flashing crimson, and said one word as a familiar pink form hurtled down towards them:

"Botan."

---

"They put them in seperate cells, sir, the strongest in the dungeon."

"...Whatever."

---

_'Da...dammit! How the hell did this happen?' Ren threw herself against the iron bars again, hearing them echo vaguely throughout the rest of the dungeons. 'No. No, no, no! Damn you, Botan, you physcotic bitch! I'll never trust you again! Aghhh, I should have fucking known better, and now I'm in some shitty half-ass prison! It's not'-- Again she beat against the bars--'fucking'--again, she threw all of her weight against the door, pain lacing up her bruised black and blue arms--'FAIR!' Now she flew backwards, off balance, and landed hard against the concrete wall behind her. 'They took Mokie from me, too...'_

_"AM I SOME KIND OF PRISONER?!" she screamed at no one in particular; she wasn't sure there was anyone down here but herself anyway._

_She spun around and started punching the wall furiously. If there was anything she hated, it was being rendered useless. How pathetic was she, to wait on a rescue that may never come? It wasn't that she'd lost faith in Hiei; but it could be hours before they realized what Botan had down with her, and then she and Izumi could have been moved off to someplace else before they could find them._

_'Iz...I wonder what they did with her...' Ren shook herself. 'Worry about her later! Get yourself out of here first.' The dark-eyed girl growled, guaging the distance to the small rectangular window. She backed up across her cement cell, and then ran for the wall the window adorned; she repositioned herself at once upon contact, and was running up it at a breakneck pace. She was a mere ten feet from the window when gravity finally caught up with her; she missed a step--balance is very, very important when running up walls--and fell. _

_She gasped when she hit the hard, cold floor, and kind of curled up on her back. 'DAMN!' she screamed inside her head. 'Agh, it hurts, it fucking hurts!' Outside, of course, she was poised and had an unnaturally composed--but demonicly angry--look on her face. She was determined to get out of this hell-hole; and once she did she'd extract her revenge from the people who'd done this to her: starting with a particularly blue-haired ferry girl._

_She kind of sat up. What was it that that damn thinker was always saying? "Live like heaven's on earth"? '...Where the fuck did she hear that, anyway? Freakishly profound...'_

_...Still..._

_So she stood, backing away from her designated route of escape, and then ran at it again._

_'I'm gonna make it this time. And then I'm gonna kill the fuckers that did this to me.'_

_---_

_'Ow...ow...'_

_The little strategist's eyes were full of tears that she refused to let fall. She had no window--she couldn't see; there was no light at all; but she could feel the lock on the large prison door before her if she felt for it. Although the keyhole was on the opposite side, she was able to stick her arms through the bars and insert her fingers into it. She pressed as hard as she could against the door, gasping each time her fingers got caught in the larger-than-normal mechanisms in the lock. Finally she withdrew her hands and skittered backwards to sit against the wall behind her, collapsing into a heap and hugging her hands to her chest. Her fingernails were broken--shattered, even--and were actually coming off her hands. Blood pooled onto the floor in front of her._

_She stared in amazement at her hands, in awe of how horribly it hurt. 'Ow...'_

_Her thoughts strayed from where they harbored escape routes and plans; and instead she found herself thinking of a certain red-haired kitsune, and a dark-haired Koorime. 'R-Rama-nii...Hiei-nii...' She still wouldn't let herself cry, though her vision blurred, making the floor and walls swim in her line of sight. 'It hurts...'_

_Izumi stumbled forward onto her feet, staggered a bit. It had been hours since they'd thrown her so unceremoniously into this prison; she hadn't said a word, hadn't uttered a single syllable in the pain or in her subdued anger. _

_'Botan...I really thought she was okay...' She couldn't find any reason to escape, really. Why bother? There was no point; she might as well just sit in this dense, dark personlized hell and wait for death to come. Already the agonizing pain her fingers were in was numbing to a dull, throbbing ache; she was quite sure it would hurt worse than it had before later on, but she'd learned to take life as it came--enjoy the simple things, live in the thrill of the moment and love all the pleasant things that happened._

_'At least...At least Rama-nii can't see me like this...I...don't want him to worry...'_

_She shook her head, clenching her eyes shut tightly. If there was one thing Renae had drilled into her it was to keep standing, no matter what..._

_That sparked the flame. '...Ren! Onee-sama! Is she okay?!' ((It's not always '-chan'; that's only when she's especially happy.)) She dropped to her knees and crawled for the door, gripping the bars and pulling herself up. She glared at nothing in particular, and hissed, "Damn." She fanned her fingers, looking in disgust and slight fear the awful state of her nails. Then she steeled herself and inserted them again into the keyhole, giving nothing more than a shuddering wince as the next wave of pain laced up her arm._

_---_

_Ren growled as she felt herself falling backwards. So close! She'd been so close that time! It was within arms length! Next time, if she could just run a little harder, she might be able to reach up and grab it--_

_---_

_She made herself unaware of the pain as twisted her fingers around inside the keyhole. There! Right there, that tiny, tiny latch! If she could just hook her nail--ow--under it and flip it up--_

_---_

_'YES!' Her hands closed around the bars, and she allowed herself a moment of righteous triumph._

_---_

_Click; 'Got it.' Izzi tenderly withdrew her hands and kicked the door open._

_---_

The guards look at each other. "Did you hear that?"

---

_She cursed when she realized that although she'd finally reached the barred window, she had no way of getting out through it. The bars were too close together for her to squeeze through, and she had nothing--nothing--on hand to even attempt to dislodge the bars. _

_So she had to let go, let herself fall. She hit the ground from the full height this time, and hissed in pain. _

_She was glancind around in a desperate attempt to find something to break the bars with, and was having no luck because her prison chambers were completely barren when she heard something very odd: it wasn't that she heard someone, but more someone who should have been there but wasn't. She could hear the air whistling slightly, but couldn't hear any footsteps, or breath; and she heard an odd _plip_ing noise, like the drip of water from a faucet._

_'Who...?' These damn ogres were lugs who couldn't manage silence even if they were wrapped in marshmallow; so who the hell was running like that?_

_And then something fell hard against her thick metal door. ((Her door had a lock on the outside, and was just a long sheet of thick metal on the inside, meaning she had no access whatsoever to the keyhole.)) There was a few pounds, and then a growl. She blinked, recognizing that muted sound of distress; it sparked a memory somewhere..._

"Ren! _Onee-sama_, are you in there?" someone whispered from the other side of the door.

It took Renae a moment to process this. "I...Iz?! Izumi, what the hell are you doing?!" She raced over to the door, scanning it as though trying to discern where her partner's face would be on the other side. "Get the hell out of here, _dobe! _You're such a _baka, _go! You'll get caught if you just stand around--"

"_Kuso."_

Ren blinked at the unexpected curse; she heard something rattling on the other side of the door. "Wait...do you have the keys?!"

"Hehe, yeah, I convinced the guards to let me have 'em." Despite her light words, her voice was heavy. Ren frowned and was about to question why, when Iz cursed again.

"What's wrong?"

"They had back-up. What the hell kind of guard has _back-up? _They _guard! _Aghhh, so troublesome." This was the voice of her subordinate, of the strategist Izumi; Ren snickered silently: she herself had been showing some mercenary-worthy qualities, too. ((Please, look away from the gouges in the wall. Thank you)) Then the gravity of her words dawned on her.

"Oh, **shit**.Get out of here, dammit!"

"_Shimatta, shimatta_," Izzi chanted to herself, voice rising in her panic. "No, no..." There was a startled cry, and the jingle of dropped keys. _"_**No**!** Get off**!" There was a brief struggle that Ren could only listen to, feeling hysteria rise up inside her from some beaten down valve of emotion she's shrouded somewhere inside her. "_Onee-sama_!"But apparently the girl known for her brilliant mind wasn't thinking very clearly anymore; "_Onee-sama, _**help**!"

And for some reason, Ren recalled a conversation the two had had long ago:

'Onee-sama...'

_'Eh? What is it?'_

_'What if...what if we get caught? During one of our calls?'_

_'Pshh, you think __**I'd**_ _get caught?'_

_'Well...'_

_'Well, nothing. I'd just turn on __**you **__for advice, little strategist.'_

_'But...what if they seperate the two of us?'_

_'Aaaghh, I hate Twenty Questions. Get over it, it's never gonna happen.'_

'...Iie...'

_'Eh?'_

_'I-I meant _hai, hai, onee-sama.'

_'Jeez, you're so easily cowed.'_

_'By __**you. '**_

_'True...Quit looking at me like that! ...Ugh. If we were ever caught and seperated, just give the guards hell into they put us back together. Okay?...__What now?'_

_'A-Ah! _Gomen, onee-sama. _I was just thinking.'_

_'Like you don't do enough of that already. Come on. Let's grab some bento with the cash from today's haul.'_

'...Hai!'

Ren grinned. So her partner in crime was still five steps ahead after all. 'Nice work, Iz.' "LET US GO!" she screamed as loud as possible. Her yell echoed off the walls and made the guards stop--obviously because the scuffling stopped, though Izumi's cries did not. Ren took this as encouragement to continue; she began beating against the door with all she was worth, screaming, "LET US GO! LET US GO, YOU BASTARDS! **DO IT NOW**!** NOW, DAMMIT**!"

((_I don't know what's worth fighting for, Or why I have to scream; I don't know why I instegate, Say what I don't mean; I don't know how I got this way, I know it's not alright; So I'm breaking the habit tonight_. -Breaking the Habit; doesn't that fit?))

---

"Sir..."

"What **now**?!"

"We had to put the girls in a cell together."

"What? Whatever for?"

"Umm...they were scaring our guards."

"...Tell me you're joking."

"The guards said they were acting as though they were possessed by demons!"

---

'Well...that didn't get us far,' Ren thought bitterly, throwing herself back in a sitting position. She glanced at Izumi, expecting a similar expression of bitter resentment and dissapointment; but was met with a forcedly happy smile-grimace-thing.

"Wow, _onee-sama, _it worked," she said, still out of breath. "That went better than I'd thought."

'...Eh?' "What the hell do you mean? We're still **down **here!" Accidentally, Ren had risen her voice.

"A-Ah, _gomen. _It's just...now that we're both in the same place we can combine efforts to get out together," the strategist explained with a crooked smile, tilting her head slightly. She was rocking back and forth slightly, hands clenched into ginger fists.

Ren rolled her eyes. "_Baka_," she muttered, grabbing Iz's wrist. "Lemme see." Iz obediently flexed her fingers out for the dark-haired girl. Ren's eyes widened at the bloody mess her nails were; but Izzi grinned wider, and pointed to the fighter's own hands. "I see you've been taking your anger out on inanimate objects again," she said, glancing pointedly at the walls - said walls gouged and cracked.

"...Shut up." Ren stood, crossing her arms. "Well? Ready?"

Izzi nodded, rising as well. "You bet."

---

_Meanwhile, back in the human realm, Botan has been tied down and is under severe questioning by livid demons._

_Oh, and a little brunette girl is being forcibly restrained by mortals who are apprehensively wondering just __**where **__exactly she got that gun._

"YOU **BITCH**!" she screamed, thrashing from where she was being held back by both Keiko and Shizuru. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU MYSELF! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT! YOU'RE GONNA DIE, EVEN IF YOU ARE THE DAMN GRIM REAPER! **CUZ I'M GONNA KILL YOU**!"

Keiko was near tears. "I'm sure she did what she had to, it wasn't her choice - "

"**SHUT THE HELL UP**!"

That scream wasn't just from Mimi; Yusuke joined in too. Keiko was startled--startled enough into letting go of Mimi's arm. Taking advantage of her precious second, Mimi then proceeded to kick Shizuru in the shin hard enough for her to let go, and raced to her big brother. Yusuke picked her up, holding her with one arm as he glared at his girlfriend. While it was true he didn't really like little kids, he'd made exceptions. Like Rinku (Yo-yo kid? If I'm wrong, correct me please), for example, and definitely Mimi and even those two little mercenaries. And to see Mimi so passionate about something, and then to see someone try to _rationalize _her passion, pissed him off; even if it _was _his beloved Keiko.

"Botan," Kurama said such forced calm everyone kind of took a step away, "tell us, now, where our little sisters are--" they were siblings by adoption "--and we won't be forced to extract it from your mind."

As if on cue, Hiei ripped his headband off, his third eye opening eerily; the purple of the Jagan shone in the sunlight glinting down at them, and the fire burning around them reflected in the demonic eye as well. Botan shuddered at the sight of it, eyes clenched tightly shut, holding her face in her hands. "I-I'm so sorry," she sobbed finally, shaking all over. "I-I...I didn't want to...and neither did Koenma...he was so upset...But Enma...he...he threatened..."

It happened at once. Kurama, Yusuke and Hiei--Kuwabara was directing the panicked civilians out of the park; the fire and abnormal growth of the vegetation had caused quite a mess, not that the ones at fault really cared--immediately switched the blame from the sobbing ferry girl to the father of her employer.

"Enma...?"

"Woah, guys, he's too big to try to take down," the Kuwabara called, having heard from where he stood outside the ring of fire.

"Mm..." Yusuke tapped his chin, glancing up at the sky. "Maybe it's time for a secret infiltration to Spirit World..." Seeing disbelieving looks pin him from all sides, he continued defensively, "I _am _the--THE--Spirit Detective! I got connections--right, Botan?" And everyone was surprised to see the pink-eyed girl smile unhesitantly and nod at once, fire lighting up her expression. Yusuke smiled back; she was forgiven...by most. Hiei forgave her grudgingly and Kurama kind of nodded. "Great! You got that portal thing, right? Just whip us up one, and--"

"Bingo!"

**Short Extra!: Mimi's Parental Adventure of Doom! - Part 1 of 2**

**"Okay, I am assigning each of you a bag of flour," the teacher said in a deadpan voice. "Each of you must care for a child like it was **_**your own SPAWN!!" **_**The dark aura that had gathered around her dissipated when she noticed the children's sidelong stares.**

**"Yay! Flour-baby!" Mimi cheered. **

**"And you must each partner up with someone to be your spouse!"**

**"...No yay. The yay has left us. WHERE HAS THE YAY GONE?!?" Mimi's rant ended abruptly when someone grabbed her arm. She blinked over at Jase, a random schmuck kid who hung around them in hopes of gaining their friendship.**

**"Wanna be my partner?" he asked excitedly.**

**"Umm, no. But I will be because I have no other choice." So, largely decided upon by the evile teacher and the schmuck, Mimi found herself clutching a flour-baby, named "Castoolio".**

**"And by the way, class--this **_**will **_**be for a grade!" the teacher said sinisterly, shadows swirling around where she perched like a gargoyle on her desk. "SO WORK, YOU PATHETIC LARVA! WORK FOR WHAT YOU MUST RECIEVE! **_**AN A-PLUS! **_**FOR IF YOU DO NOT GET IT - ****YOU FAIL!"**

**The class was silent again, staring at their educator. Mimi was the one to break the heavy silence, voicing what was on all of their minds:**

**"I really, **_**really **_**think there's something wrong with her."**

**Short Extra!: Part 1 End**

**Yes, INVADER ZIM is my muse...XDD I didn't quote him, but a lot of what the teacher says sounds like stuff he'd say.**

**Alright, so tell me - did you like the previous chapters' style of writing, or this chapter's? Let me know...this was just a trial run. /\**.

**Arigato, thanks for reading! Umm, gomen for how rushed and unsatisfactory this chapter is. XDD Please keep reading! I'm doing it all for you guys... Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**It's been awhile since I update, ne? Well, don't worry. Thing is, I wrote myself into a hole last chapter, and it took some effort on my part to climb back out. I'm teetering on the edge of said metaphorical hole, so I should just get right to the stuff you all care about.**

**Note: I'm aware that the Japanese language doesn't have plurals. I apologize for my error in writing "onnas" instead of "onna"; it's biased, I guess, but I was afraid that people would get confused as to whether Hiei was talking to just Ren or Ren and Izzi as well. Gomen . . . **

**One More Note: This will be a rather short chapter. Gomenasai!**

**Last Note: I got a new cat. He's a jerk.**

**Short Extra!: Not Really.**

**"Ummmm..." Izzi blushes. "Gomen! We **_**kind **_**of forgot to have a story prepared!"**

**Ren sighs. "Damn. And I think they were really getting into our Short Extra!s, too..."**

**"Well," Izzi says thoughtfully. "Distant6 is fighting with Writer's Block right now, ne?"**

**"Hai," Ren yawns. "Well, this means we can't blame her. Pity."**

**Mimi clenches a fist determinedly. "But Part 2 of **_**my **_**Extra! will be at the end of the next chapter! **_**So read it! All of you! Read or **__**suffer**__**!"**_

**Short Extra!: End**

_Chapter 9_

_Relief from Dark_

It was dark. No light came in from their small window. She was supposed to be keeping guard, but she felt the darkness creeping into her own vision as well. She would bite down hard on her lip each time she nearly passed out, and was kept awake more by the feel of blood on her tongue than the pain.

The other girl was panting heavily, glaring through half-lidded eyes at the wall. She'd managed to chip out a chunk of the concrete wall, and had that grasped firmly in one hand. Breathing in deeply, she took a running start and was sprinting up the wall in seconds.

When she hit the ground, her companion shuddered; "Onee-sama..."

"I'm fine."

And the strategist took it without any concerned hesitation. "Hai."

The obsidian-eyed fighter snarled suddenly, punching the wall with enough anger to crack it. "KAMI TAKE ALL OF THEM!"

Izzi blinked at her sadly, looking half-asleep. "Ren, if you do that you're going to break your wrist."

"SO WHAT?!"

"I'm only saying," came the mumbled response.

---

"You two go ahead," Yusuke said cheerfully, thumping Kurama on the back. "We'll play with the guards. Oi, Botan--you can take 'em to Koenma's office, right?" As he spoke, Kuwabara pinned three guards to a wall with a three-pronged spirit sword; Hiei slid his miraculously unbloody katana into his sheath, and Botan turned around from where she was beating an ogre into unconsciousness with her metal baseball bat.

Kurama's rose dissapeared into his hair, and he didn't smile when he said, "Very well." Hiei, likewise, crossed his arms and stood at the door, crimson eyes boring into Botan's as the latter scurried into the Palace. "We won't be long."

Yusuke paled, and Kuwabara shuddered. "Why do they gotta be so cold?" the human muttered to his half-demon companion. "They creep me out sometimes."

Yusuke's eyes flashed red and he grinned malevolently. "And I don't?"

Kuwabara blinked. "Not really."

Yusuke's shoulders sagged. "Damn."

---

Botan led them down several hallways, flying through crowds of people on her oar without stopping or throwing a 'sorry!' over her shoulder. She expected the two demons to keep up and they did, running level with her as she led them straight past Koenma's office. "You can deal with him later," she panted, blue hair coming out of the ponytail - she'd never flown this fast before, "but right now you'll have to find your sisters."

"Where the hell are they?"

In response, Botan raised a hand and jerked it to the right; the floor opened up beneath them in a concrete shute and Botan dropped into it first, flattening herself against her oar perilously and continuing to fly down the narrow, pitch black, hard-as-rock tunnel. Hiei and Kurama glanced at each other and then jumped in after her.

When it opened up, they landed - Botan less gracefully than her companions - on a damp, concrete floor in a musty, dark dungeons.

"They're here?"

"Yes," Botan said softly, holding her oar in her arms.

"Thank you."

It was clearly dismissal. She nodded and flew back up the chute, leaving the Koorime and the kitsune to their own devices. They were much calmer, now that she was gone; they couldn't explain why, or, rather, simply didn't care enough. "Jagan?"

"Hn." Hiei ripped off his headband, and the third eye opened in a flash, glowing an eery purple in the dim. Kurama waited patiently, absently running his hand through his hair, fingers brushing the rose hidden there. "Found them," the Koorime said suddenly.

"I'm right behind you."

And they took off again; they passed several guards, but a few slashes off the Rose Whip and the walls around them began to crumble, leaving them distracted. Hiei stopped at a battered and blood-smeared door; he snarled at something his companion couldn't see and kicked the door in.

When the soft dust settled, and two pairs of eyes adjusted to the darkness, a small form fell from somewhere very high up; Hiei growled, hand flying to his hilt but at the light coughing the little thing ensued, he let his hand fall. Kurama scanned the rest of the room, until his eyes alighted on the figure rocking back and forth in the corner, eyes wide and unseeing. He walked to her slowly, soundlessly, and knelt in front of her. "Izumi," he said quietly, "are you alright?"

But as soon as his hands rested on her shoulders she screamed, "REN, THEY'VE GOT ME, THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE HERE, THEY'VE GOT ME, THEY'RE HERE!"

And the little thing that had raced once again up the side of the wall fell, all fists and claws and fangs. "GET AWAY!" she snarled. "GET OFF 'ER!! LEAVE US ALONE!"

"Onna!" Hiei grabbed her flailing wrists. "Onna, calm down!" At the same time, Kurama tried, with vain effort, so soothe Izzi. It was hard for both of them, because their instinct was registering their girls as threats, as danger. It made their fighting blood pulse quicker, and they quickly beat down the reflexes they'd for so long built up. It was a first for them, not giving in at once to the reactions they knew they could trust; because they couldn't this time. And although it hurt to go against the flow of what normally they depended on, it was out of the question to even possibly harm the two little ex-mercenaries; it would not be considered, and truthfully, that would probably hurt more than any little pains the aforementioned might have been able to inflict.

Finally light began to come back into the strategist's eyes, filled with frightened tears, and Ren stopped thrashing, panting hoarsely, and fell limp against Hiei, who caught her without effort. As Kurama gathered Izumi into his arms, Hiei did the same for Renae, dropping his cloak over her chilled body.

"Niichan," Izzi said suddenly, voice surprisingly strong; she spoke with clarity that normally people wouldn't have in the situation--and they had no doubt whatsoever that Ren would be giving them an earful, if she could breathe. "Gomen..."

Kurama blinked as he unconsciously rocked her. "You're sorry? For what?"

She leaned against him, cold. "We didn't get a chance to get out of here so we could kill Koenma. Onee-chan's dissapointed."

And Ren barked a laugh, coming back with, "And you'll have to take _her _to a doctor to have those hands looked at."

Stubbornly, Izzi muttered, "Better than having my vertebrae fractured by so many falls."

Kurama felt himself limpen slightly with relief, and Hiei sighed, covering his Jagan with his free hand, Ren cradled in one arm for a moment. _If they're well enough to fight with each other, I don't think we have to worry, _the Koorime thought dryly.

_I quite agree. Let's get them home; we can deal with Koenma and the rest of it when the time comes. But for now..._

_Yes._

---

Koenma smiled as he watch Botan open up another portal; and he watched his detective and his detective's friend waiting anxiously on the other side, whooping loudly when Kurama and Hiei stepped through, having procured both girls safely and quickly. Botan slipped through it after them, closed it, and then walked away with the briefcase without a glance back.

_I wonder if they'll come to forgive me._

But for now, he knew his team's thoughts would not be on him; he could see clearly Yusuke's enthusiastically ecstactic "HELL YES!" expression, Kuwabara's idiotic grin, Botan's cheerful, closed-eye smile, and...

Kurama's face was gentle as it usually was when not in battle, and he gazed down relievedly at his burden. He was almost limp with relief, and it took him more effort than he thought it should to keep himself walking straight. Hiei, likewise, was also struggling; his eyes kept flicking down to the little girl bundled in his cloak in his arms, and back up again, and he unconsciously brought her closer to him as they walked, until he was carrying her with the same tender affection that his Fox wasn't ashamed in showing.

_Baka ningen; their foolish emotions are rubbing off onto me, _he muttered mind-to-mind.

_Of course, Hiei, _the Fox had answered, sounding weary; and yet there was nothing patronizing in his voice, simply a knowing smile hidden away in the sound. _I know. _

When they reached home, there would be chaos; Hell, all of Spirit World could be after them, now.

But first things first: they'd have to put Ren and Izzi to bed. Panda and Mokie would be deathly excited to see them, and Mimi would have to be restrained until the two ex-mercenaries woke on their own.

Enma would have to wait for that as well; the demons simply wouldn't allow anything to wake their tired sisters up.

**Okay, it's was choppy and didn't make much sense, but I tried; PLEASE REVIEW!**

**THE STORY ISN'T OVER. -**.**-**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yes, I know: I haven't updated in eight hundred years. -frowns- I've lost quite a few reviewers, which dampened my motivation to start this chapter. Truthfully, I didn't really want to continue work on this.**

**By the way...when did it become illegal to play good music on the radio at night? I mean, **_**good **_**music, no rap or crap like that. -mutters- Although, there is **_**one **_**rapper I like; Lady Sovereign. If you don't know who she is, go educate yourself. Youtube her, dude. My favorite song of her's is "Hoodie".**

_Chapter 11_

_Camp Hell_

They glared after Kurama's car as it dissapeared down the road, leaving them alone, clad all in black, in the sea of strangers that streamed about them. They clutched their duffel bags close to them, and stared forward now, backs to the open exit, eyes straight ahead. A woman approached them and they averted their gazes to her quickly, eyes flashing.

"Welcome to Gallaheu!" she said cheerily, clapping her hands together in front of her. "Come right this way, and we'll get you signed in!" 

"We've already been signed in," Izumi said quietly, holding up a thin packet. "We just need to know where we go now."

The woman took the paper and glanced over it, then flipped the top page over to view the page stapled to it. "Ah! Well, this seems to be in order!" She smiled again at them, folding the paper and clipping it to her clipboard. "See that big building over there? Go around behind there and sit down with the other girls--there'll be a porch, with wooden tables, wait there, alright? When I come back, we'll introduce each other, and...oh, no, leave your bags here, on this tarp, with the rest of your group's things, okay?...Good, good--now run along--"

Izumi sighed and hefted her duffle over one shoulder, her messenger bag over the other, and trudged up a slight hill to where the designated tarp lay spread out over the grass. "Mimi, toss up your crap," she called once she'd thrown her things to the side of the pile rather than on it.

"'Kay!" Mimi yelled back, swinging her bags one at a time back and forth until they gathered enough momentum; she let them fly each, and Iz caught them as they came--stumbling and yelping--and laid them next to her's. "We set?"

Izumi joined her once more on the parking lot gravel and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

They rounded the building, and blinked at the empty tables; traded glances, then shrugged, sitting down at them anyway. "Feh," Mimi muttered sleepily, stretching out. "We did what we were told, ne?"

"Hai," Izumi mumbled into her sleeve, closing her eyes wearily.

Screams sounded, those of children at play, from the distance, signaling them in the direction they were probably supposed to go. Neither moved.

"Hope it's painful," Mimi said suddenly, commenting on the shrieks.

"That _would _be nice," Izzi agreed ruefully, grinning. As they closed their eyes, very much prepared to sleep, that overly cheerful voice sounded;

_"There _you girls are!" the woman from before exclaimed happily, clasping her hands as though the two girls had gone way beyond borders and not where they'd been told. "The other girls are over this way, follow me--you don't want to sit alone here, do you?"

"Yes," Izzi and Mimi answered at the same time, but the woman either didn't hear them or chose not to acknowledge them. She led them away from the building, making the both of them wonder why they were ever directed to it in the first place, and down a small hill, into an open area where two old-ish looking girls were trying to calm a swarm of girls around Izumi and Mimi's age down.

"Why don't you girls join those girls, hmm?" their smiley leader asked them...smileyly.

"Do we have to?"

"Well, it'd be nice--"

"Do we have to?"

"I think--"

"Do we have to?"

_"Yes."_

"Jerk."

---

She didn't know where she was. All Ren knew, is that when she opened her eyes and glanced around, she was in a grassy field somewhere...surrounded by a bunch of people running around in camo...

---

"Everyone get in a circle," a particularly loud-mouthed camper shouted, pantomiming a huge circle with both arms. "C'mon, we'll play a game while we wait for Auska!"

_Auska. That woman who took us here. _

"But, I'm a little afraid of intimacy," Izumi said dryly, a sardonic grin playing on her lips.

"And I hate commitment," Mimi added just as caustically, smirking.

"Come on, girls," the loud-mothed redhaired shouted enthusiastically. "Join us!"

"_That _was weird," Mimi whispered sullenly.

"Why should we listen to you?" Izumi asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. There were only a handul of people in the world she would listen to; she had no respect for people who waved authority around like a banner, who could, as well, only because of their age. People like Rama-niichan and Hiei-nii and Yusu-nii and Ren-onee were good leaders; they had leadership thrust upon them and adapted well, smoothly sliding into place as commanders and leading well their people.

"I'm a counselor," the readhead said, raising both her eyebrows back, as though awed by the golden-haired girl's brazen disrespect.

Mimi gaped; Izumi blinked.

"You don't look any older than us!"

"Well, I am; people can't help their height."

"Toothpick!" came that familiar voice; Mimi and Izzi groaned loudly--several of the girls around them, who'd been watching their spectical, grinned or giggled at their reactions to seeing Auska walked towards the large group with two other girls. "Didn't I tell you to start the game?"

"I was," the redhead--Toothpick, obviously (the counselors had this weird thing with not telling people their real names until the last day, thus going through camp with a nickname everyone calls them by _all the time_)--replied defensively, "but these girls didn't want to cooperate!"

"What kind of leader blames their recruits for their own idiocy?" Mimi and Izzi asked at the same time, folding their arms.

Silence stretched for a moment; one of the two girls with Auska beamed at them, eyes lighting up. Her companion, however, muttered something under her breath, making the first girl frown. "Well, then," Auska said suddenly, brightening, "let's begin the game."

"But Auska's here now," Mimi objected, aghast.

"What's the point of playing the game, now? Can't we just go?!" Izzi protested alongside her, eyes wide with horror.

"No, it's important that you girls get to know one another while you're here," a third counselor who hadn't spoken up till then said suddenly, "and make friends with one another." She had a strong British accent.

Izumi scowled at her, and Mimi muttered something unintelligible under her breath; but if anything, they were outnumbered and Kurama had specifically warned them against confrontations. So they found themselves, minutes later, standing in a huge oval-pentagram-ish shape that might pass for some kind of deformed circle with people they'd never met before, and would never care to know. Toothpick stood in its center explaining the rules of their game: basically, the first person would stand in the middle, tell the rest of the group something about themselves, and anyone who shared that trait had to rush about and find a different spot to stand in the circle; the person remaining became the new "it" person. Frankly, Izumi was beginning to regret her decision about leaving her messenger bag with her duffel (she kept her stash of manga there); and Mimi was sorely recalling the pocket of her bag she'd slipped her Gameboy in.

Each time something was said and the girls rushed about enthusiastically, the two orphans stood quietly, a blank glare controlling their facial features. Finally, the third counselor (one called "Paradise") called out, "Who hasn't had a turn?" And Duck pointed at the two almost smugly:

"Them."

"God is laughing at me," Izumi said softly, resisting the urge to twitch as she moved forward. Standing before them all in her black-clad glory, she crossed her arms and let her weight rest on one leg so she could prop the other against it, as though she were leaning against a wall that didn't exist. "Fine; my favorite color is black." It wasn't true: she loved virtually every shade of blue, but no one needed to know that. No one in the circle moved for a moment; then Mimi cheerfully sprang into the center, and Izzi retired the place to her--but as she made to go back, the girl from before (the one who was late) stepped forward as well. Izumi's eyes locked with hers, and Mimi's "cheer" died on the spot. After a wordless conversation that passed between the children for less than a minute, unnerving the counselors sorely, Izzi changed direction and took the girl's place, while the girl took hers, leaving Mimi in the center.

"I love ramen!" Mimi chirped, and of course several of the girls raced about; it had been planned, for as soon as the girl standing beside Izumi ran off (convenient, yes?) took off in a frenzied glee, Mimi took her place. "I heard her talking about food with a friend before we started playing. I hate this game," she added suddenly, sullenly: Izzi smiled at her, and swapped places, replying, "Me, too."

Finally, they sat down, refusing to play anymore; the girl--a new ally, perhaps?--abandoned the girl she'd arrived with and sat down with them. Rather than make a scene by arguing with them, Auska said quickly, "Okay, girls, why don't you all sit for awhile while I talk to Duck, Toothpick and Paradise?"

"Do we have a choice?" Mimi asked loudly, getting no answer; she grumbled to herself, but didn't push it, choosing instead to scoot around until she and Izumi were back-to-back.

---

"Oh," Izzi said under her breath.

"My," Mimi supplied wearily when the strategist panted heavily for too long to complete her epithet.

"God," they completed together.

"Are you effing serious?!" Izzi, breath regained, was outraged.

"Watch your language," Auska said mildly, passing them.

"We have to walk up this hill every day?!" Mimi shreiked at her; the effect may have been more threatening had she not been wheezing.

"Of course," Duck said, sounding surprised, from where she walked at the front of the group. "We'll walk from here every morning to the horse stables, and on days we don't go there, we'll walk to the mess hall." She continued on with a long overview of a typical week at Camp Gallaheu. Izzi and Mimi twitched.

"Now, now," Toothpick said in a cheerfull voice, obviously unaffected by the waves of gloom rolling off the two. "We'll have fun together!"

Before either of the girls could think up a reply, they reached the top of the steep incline and found themselves on a path that blossomed out into what was called "Reservation". Ten platform tents formed a ( ) around a large building in the middle of their new two-week home; the counselors called it the Unit House. Izzi and Mimi glanced around; spotted a tent that was way off to the side, hidden for the most part by small trees and brush. They shared a quick glance, then headed straight for it. Dumping themselves inside, they surveyed the innards of the platform tent; somewhat small, with two beds on each side, lined end-to-end. Mimi poked at one bed; the slight touch made it creak loudly, the rusted metal springs groaning.

A loud bell clanked loudly from the Unit House, and Paradise yelled "To the Unit House, girls!"

Muttering, Mimi and Izzi drew the tent flaps back, letting everyone know it had been claimed, and also to air it out. The rejoined the rest of the Hoofies (what their group was called, to their _joy and pride_) at the Unit House were they gathered on wooden benches. Izzi and Mimi chose to sit in the back, arms folded across a table, watching all of the others with wary eyes.

The counselors went on about rules at Gallaheu, how they were expected to behave, various Kapers ("I'm sure they're trying to be fun," Mimi muttered), and when they'd go to bed and wake up. At that time, the truck with all of their luggage arrived, and two men jumped down, hauling out all the bags and boxes. Iz and Mimi spotted theirs at once and set to digging them up, then dragging them away.

They got it to their tent after some intense labor, and set to making their accomadations homey. Mimi spread her bags out in her corner of the tent, and made up her bed, Izzi doing the same. They heard footsteps crunching leaves down the path toward them, and glanced up to see two girls they hadn't met holding their bags and blankets with hopeful expressions.

"Do, you mind if we...?" one of them asked shyly, trailing off.

After a shared glance, Izzi and Mimi drawling in unison, "G'head."

---

"Cadet! Get down here!"

"NO!"

"Just grab the rope and propel down!"

"GET THE F-AWAY! I'M NOT MOVING!"

---

**Okay, rather short chapter. But I wanted to update...**


	12. Short Extra!

**A/N: Just so you know this story's not dead. .:D**

Rules At Home

1. You are not allowed out of the house.

2. Should we find out you've ever gone outside the house, we will assign you a babysitter.

3. Should you kill the babysitter, you will be neglected anything sugary or with a high level of caffine for a week--and then we will hire another babysitter.

4. You are not allowed to experiement with alchemy--some people are mortal, and they will die.

5. If you kill anything, you will clean the blood up before we get home or risk punishment.

6. If you are attacked by a rabid squirrel/dog/bear/etc., you will not try to pet it, name it, or keep it under your pillow.

7. When the phone rings, do not advertise products to the caller.

8. Do not answer the phone.

9. Do not take apart and resemble house hold appliances. The remote should work for the television, and the television _only._

10. If there is snow outside, you are allowed to play in it--_if _your play does not endager the lives of everyone in Japan. Explaining to the mayor why his town was flooded was not a pleasant experience.

11. You will not steal the neighbor's sofa and position it on their roof: they were a little upset about it the last time.

12. You are not to light the neighbors (or, for that matter, _anyone's_) lawn ornaments on fire.

13. You are not to prank call police station: the next time they show up on our doorstop looking for the murderer of a woman named Lucy, you will be severely punished.

14. Do not under any circumstances go to Spirit World; if you do something stupid there, you might die or be cast into a world of torture and pain for the next three eternities, and we may not be able to kill the ones responsible for sending you there in time for you not to have to go.

15. You are welcome to anything in the kitchen except for Hiei's ice cream. Perhaps you should just stay out of the freezer.

16. Do not attempt to "fix" the car again. Last time it took three days to put out the fire.

17. If we return to a list of complaints of neighbors reporting you've broken in (again) and threatened them into silence with a rubber chicken/rubber mouse/raw turkey/etc. and then attempted to walk out with their oven or any other appliance, you will be punished.

18. Leave the neighbors alone.

19. Leave anyone besides Yusuke, Mimi, Kuwabara, Botan and Koenma alone.

20. Mimi, these rules are for you, too.

21. Yusuke, I mean it.

Be back in a few days' time,

_Kurama_

**Hiei**


	13. Chapter 12

**Okaaaaay, here we go; it's time for the lastest installment of DELIRIUM!! -sings to the tune of the Veggie Tales theme- **_**Insanity, depauchery, DELIRIUM. **_**Yeah, okay, I'm done. I started watching Yu Yu Hakusho again and I'm currently on episode fourty-six...I'm gonna skip a few here and there 'cause I **_**really **_**wanna see Yusuke die and come back half-demon. But there's no way I'm skipping Kurama's episodes. His fight with Karasu made me cry...;A; And that weird short guy with the fishing pole, too; I loved that one 'cause Rama got to go Yoko. W00t...**

**Ah!! One more thing; today's Short Extra! is brought to you by--MIMI!! In other words, I didn't write it.**

**...Had fun naming it though. And it's going to be randomly the ending of the last and one in itself, because Mimi quit writing it and never gave me the rest. Therefore, I was left with no choice but to UPDATE ANYWAY!**

**Short Extra!: Mimi's Parental Adventure of Doom - Part 2/Doomish War**

**Mimi was walking downtown, balancing on the curb. This was a few hours after school had ended. The bag of joy was balanced on her head as she walked, the people on the street were ignoring her, they were used to her antics. Suddenly out of the bushes five kids commando rolled before her, with her standing dumbstruck. "Mortal, you have tread upon sacred ground, this is our headquarters, leave or you will be terminated." The kids each held, aimed at her, those super-soakers that they advertised on TV. **

"**But I have to come through here to get back to Yusuke-nii's house. If I'm not home soon I'll be grounded-ed and I'll tell him who held me up and he'll go all The-great-Urameshi on you and then Keiko will have to hit him again… And I'll still be grounded-ed." The kids looked at eachother. "Fine, but don't let us see you here again." The kids let her past. Mimi grinned. Ren-onee would get a kick out of this. So with the flour-child (hehe) still on her head she ran to Kurama-nii's house. **

"**Ren-onee! Ren-onee!" she burst through the window (it was closed) shattering the glass, not getting a cut on her, and landed running (the flour baby still intact on her head…. Maybe she glued it there…) She ran to where Ren was sitting on the table, crossed-legged, with Izzi seated in a chair next to her. She halted in front of them, saulting, almost knocking the flour-baby off her head. "I have news, Capitan." "Report, soldier." Ren replied immediately playing along. **

"**I was intercepted by five hostile en route to your house. May be more hidden elsewhere. They are armed with super-soakers, which can hold approximately two gallons of liquid. Your orders." "I'll need a small, elite group of fighters." Ren took some convenient black paint that was sitting on the table near her, dipped her fingers in, and painted two black lines on each cheek. "This is war." **

**Short Extra!: Part 2/1 - End**

_Chapter 12_

_Kana_

A day that had such potential to be great, ended so horribly. They never could have imagined things would go so wrong; never could they have considered this as one of the outcomes--as it were, it was the worst possible.

Why?

--

"Was it really that bad?" Kurama asked with some concern, looking into the rearview mirror at the three very unhappy campers (ha ha) in the backseat.

"Yes," came the simultaneous reply.

"What, did all the ningen hate you?" Hiei asked, raising one eyebrow.

"No, actually..." Izzi looked thoughtful, and downright confused. "Actually they all loved us. I mean, you couldn't tell that at the beginning, but when it was time for us to go, they all started crying, and clamoring for us to sign their camp T-shirts." She shook her head. "It was weird. After all that; us telling them we hated them and everything..."

"They were _so annoying, _too," Mimi agreed, drawing on the window with her index finger. "They argued with everything we said, even when they were dead wrong, even the councelors! And they kept trying to make us do stuff; like swim in a nasty lake, or play this stupid weasel game." She rolled her eyes. "They seperated Iz and I; Samu-chan--the only decent human being there--got really mad, too, and started yelling at the counselors and stuff."

"Mimi and I didn't react as...professionally...as we should have," Izzi said carefully. Ren raised one eyebrow at her. "They started reassigning tents at around eleven-thirty one night; they weren't supposed to do that unless it was daylight outside. But, anyway, they were, and they put Mimi and me in different tents. It...well..." Izzi paused for a moment. "We didn't...Agh! Anyway, that wasn't fair, either, because we _signed on _as partners, meaning they were _not allowed _to split us up."

"But they must have thought, Hey! Since we're punishing girls who broke a few rules, let's break a few ourselves--just to, you know, take a step awaaay from hipocrosy," Mimi muttered dryly. "We were on our best behavior that day, too!"

"They even called the _director _of the camp up to Reservation--our little spot in the woods," Izzi mumbled. "She started being all smart-ass, talking about how we were in _her _camp, so we should follow _her _rules, and stop scaring the girls so much." Here she rolled her eyes as well. "They accused _me _of shoving some girl down a hill, and Mimi of crushing a girl's waterbottle; neither of us had any _reason _of course, we were just naturally evil children."

"She said that?" Kurama's voice was colored with rage. Even Hiei gave him a quick sidelong glance.

Having no sympathy for the fate that could befall the camp, Mimi muttered, "She might as well have."

"Basically, the whole camp is a shithole," Ren concluded.

"Right."

"Well, _BOOT CAMP,_" she snarled pointedly; the two demons in the front visibly stiffened, "sucked ass too."

"Listen," Kurama said, looking pained, "we--" His cellphone went off at that point. Hiei reached into Kurama's pocket and flipped it open, then held it to the kitsune's ear.

_"Kurama?" _came Yusuke's voice.

"Yusuke-nii!" Mimi threw herself forward. "Yusuke-nii, I missed you!"

_"Oy, is that Mimi? Hey, kid! I--Ow!" _Here, his voice grew distant._ "Goddammit, Kuwabara, gimme a minute!" _Words clear again, he said, _"Kurama, Koenma wants to see us. He says it's urgent, but he won't gimme any details--you're usually the only one who can weed 'em out of him."_

"Well, we just picked the girls up from camp...hold on," Kurama tilted his head away from the phone and Hiei responded by pulling it away. The redhead glanced into the rearview mirror at the pathetic-looking youths in the back seat. "What do you say? Case or home?"

At once, smiles lit their faces and they cheered, "Case! Bring it on!"

Hiei lifted the phone back up to Kurama's ear, and Kurama, as he spun the steering wheel, said, "We'll be there in ten."

--

"So...what is it?"

Yusuke, Mimi back in her appropriate place on his shoulders, frowned. "I dunno..." He glanced over at Botan, who was peering down at it with the same fascinated confusion as they all were. "Botan? Any ideas?"

"Koenma said that it was some kind of rip in the dimension." Her voice was grave. "Like...a gap in time and space."

Kuwabara looked alarmed. "It's in the middle of the park; anyone could fall in!"

"More like, anyone could be pulled in." Botan was typing hastily on her laptop (the group had gifted her with one the Christmas before), drawing up the data she'd saved on this specific ordeal. "Apparently, it's an actual being; it lures humans in with promises and such..." She shook her head. "It gives them images of the things they desire most--or something equally alluring. The human mind is way too vulnerable and...well, human to ward it off with common sense. A human like Kuwabara, however, with a high spiritual awareness, should notice the danger at once and be fine."

"Well, we've got nothing to worry about, then," Yusuke said with a grin, folding his arms behind his head. "All we have to do is--" He trailed off, eyes widening in what could only be horror. His team frowned and followed his gaze simaltaneously.

The girls' eyes were half-open, and all a dull gray. They were staring ahead at the demon with expressionless faces. It took no time at all for the Rekai Tentai to understand; and less time for them to react. Kurama and Hiei were the first at the girls' side, both reaching out-- "_Don't!" _Botan screamed, "If you touch them, the demon will have you, too!" But they were done listening to reason; their hands closed around their sisters' arms.

Immediately, they were privvy to a massive sea of confused thought and feeling; Hiei gripped Kurama's wrist--if they were seperated here, it'd be all over for both of them. They sought out their _onna, _wading through the mixed and jumbled emotion. And then they were in an oasis of calm, a pocket of quieter thought.

_It's so warm..._

_Such a pretty sound..._

_It looks like fun..._

_I've never been there before..._

_I should try it..._

_I want to go..._

_I want to go..._

_I want to go..._

_Where's niichan?_

Kurama opened his mouth to scream a reply, but Hiei shook his head sharply. Finger to his lips; Kurama bit his lip and nodded.

_We should go together..._

_We should go together..._

_I don't think he'd like it there..._

_He has more fun here..._

_He has more fun here..._

_He has family here..._

_He loves them so much..._

_It would make him sad..._

_He deserves to be happy..._

_He deserves to be happy..._

_I'll go..._

_He'll stay..._

_I'll go..._

They could feel the girls' auras all around them, pressing in on them from all sides, suffocating them in familiarity--they were all around, yet nowhere to be seen. Everywhere and nowhere; right in front of them, but so far out of their grasp. Neither of them could help it any longer--

_"KANA!" _

And at once they were rejected, their presence detected; they were thrown out of wherever it was, out of the conflicted thought proccess of three souls that had somehow become one.

_He'll stay._

"Kurama, Hiei," Yusuke was at their side, helping them to their feet, "are you okay?" Kurama glanced up, green eyes sharp, and beside him Hiei was revealing his Jagan. Iz, Ren and Mimi began towards the dimensional demon, taking slow, sleepy steps.

_I'll go._

"Izzi! Ren! Mimi!" Botan summoned her oar and lept on, attempting to fly over them. "You musn't go towards it, you'll--" She was blown back by a sudden gust of wind that blew out of the rip in time with all the force of a tornado. Kuwabara caught her, and, thrown back by her momentum, hit the ground hard. Yusuke glanced at them, then his eyes returned to his little sister.

_"Mimi get your ass back here!"_

_He'll stay._

"It's no use, imbecile! She can't hear you!" Hiei was gritting his teeth, sweat forming on his forehead as his Jagan pulsed insanely; then it rolled back and the Koorime shuddered then fell still, falling forward. Kurama stood, rushing towards the girls as they were lifted up into the swirling air. It tore at their hair and clothes, but they didn't react.

Kurama reached out a hand as far as he could, fingers mere inches from his Ren's fingers.

"Please," he begged them, "fight it. Please, we can't lose you again. Come back to us, _kana._"

Gradually, as they rose higher and higher, their eyes began to clear into their normal respective blue, black and gray shades. Slowly, their eyes widened and they panicked, shouting in alarm--but they were too far gone. Kurama watched them scream and struggle and quickly drew his beloved rose from his hair. As the vortex swirled closed, he let it fly; the girls' screams were muted, and the demon turned in on itself and vanished.

Kurama fell to his knees beside the unconscious Hiei and held his face in his hands.

_I'll go alone._

**Guess what??? I'm editting this chapter!!! As in, DELIRIUM'S NOT OVER ANYMORE, FOOLS!!! -manical laughter-**

**Ahem. You can expect the next chapter sometime soonish. **


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